The Exies are an LA-based commercial rock band, which wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing if they had something interesting to say. Unfortunately, Head For The Door is a by-the-numbers radio-friendly retread of mid-to-late '90s alt-rock.

This record is full of buzzwords: aggressive, forceful, organic, edgy, driving and explosive. It's straightforward grunge-inspired hard rock, very close indeed to the stadium leanings of both the Foo Fighters and the Stone Temple Pilots, most notably in "What You Deserve", "Baptise Me", "My Opinion" and -- honestly, every song here could have come from a Pilots album. Singer/guitarist Scott Stevens even sounds a lot like the amped-up Scott Weiland, and while his lyrics focus on similarly depressing topics, his singing lacks much of the charisma that ultimately made Weiland interesting. Likewise, the music itself is competent yet uninspired; updating for today's audience apparently involves playing everything faster, with glossy overproduction that's supposed to sound raw.

Hey, we already have the chimeric Velvet Revolver to satisfy our Weiland nostalgia. At least The Exies aren't playing generic nu-metal or pop-punk, but hopefully they'll develop actual strengths of their own next time out.