Listen to the Gin Blossoms long enough and the outline of their musical legacy begins to take shape--five guys in their early thirties who grew up listening to power pop and came of age in the R.E.M. days, when guitars were jangly and college radio (and later, MTV) made "alternative" music a viable commodity. Add bittersweet lyrics about settling into the ennui of early adulthood and you've got the crux of the Gin Blossoms.

Their second full-length major label release, Congratulations I'm Sorry, sounds a lot like 1992's New Miserable Experience, if a bit more polished--probably a result of using the same studio and the same producer for both records. The band gets high marks for choosing legendary Ardent Studios in Memphis (the former home of Big Star, lauded by some as one of the most influential American pop bands of all time) to record their first album, and even higher marks for returning there to do Congratulations. Producer John Hampton's pop-perfect mix showcases the talents of each band member; driving basslines are as audible as lead guitar on most songs.

Congratulations is full of hooks and melodies that you'll be humming long after you turn off your CD player. "Follow You Down" is poised for radio airplay, as is "My Car" and "Highwire," which pays homage to the golden era of '70s pop. A stab at a ballad, "As Long As It Matters," drags a bit, and the album is broken up by a silly baseball stadium organ jingle, but the pace quickly resumes with three uptempo tunes. The pedal steel and accordion on "Memphis Time" offer a nod to country rock and zydeco, and echo similar influences on New Miserable Experience, (which featured C.J. Chenier, zydeco superstar and son of late Cajun great Clifton Chenier). Art Neville, founding member of the Neville Brothers and the Meters, adds his Hammond B3 organ to three tracks. Frontman Robin Wilson tends to overuse his natural vibrato, but he delivers lyrics with emotion--a singular delight in an era when many rock singers revel in detachment.

While it is an auspicious follow-up to the first record (and one the band took seriously, waiting three-and-a-half years to complete it), Congratulations suffers from its reliance on what comes across as a songwriting formula. It lacks the quirkiness and originality that separates great pop music from good pop music. Lyrically, it falls short of the superior imagery and insight of the first album, almost half of which was penned by Doug Hopkins. (A brilliant songwriter with a deep passion for music, Hopkins left the band and committed suicide at the brink of their huge success.) Despite its flaws, however, Congratulations I'm Sorry is a listenable and memorable effort. The Gin Blossoms deserve their place in the long line of pop bands who have made it big--no easy task in America, where airplay frequently eschews jangly guitar pop in favor of heavy rock, dance music, and general '80s nostalgia.