the cut*off: Mon at Muthers, 113 Ave A, Denton, 940-383-0045 (acoustic), and Sat at Andy's Bar & Grill, 122 N Locust St, Denton, 940-565-5400.

Seems like the "modern rock" juggernaut has settled into an era of slavish imitation. Survey the airwaves and the clubs. You'll find essentially three types of bands: ones that recycle the more obvious elements of Seattle grunge (minus the rough edges that made it interesting); ones that recycle the more obvious elements of Radiohead (minus the spirit of adventure); and bands that sound like (yawn!) Dave Matthews. It's enough to make a young AlternaKid turn to The Outkast for manic pop thrills or just give up on the whole sorry mess and tune into American Idol.

Enter the cut*off, a quartet of Cowtown youngsters led by singer-guitarist Kyle Barnhill. Based on some lackluster early demos, the cut*off looked like just another mediocre rock outfit. But through constant gigging across the Metroplex, Barnhill et al. have been able to refine their sound into something quite interesting. Which isn't to imply that they're slick or sophisticated in any way -- what they're offering is your basic Rawk 5.0 version. Thus, on Polarity (their debut full-length), moments of shoegazy grandeur like "Overdrawn" and "Masterplan" rub shoulders with more balls-out rockin' episodes like "Big Swim" and "Push," and both styles share space with some head-spinning studio tomfoolery.

At his best, Barnhill snarls like a descendant of one of those '60s teen scene brats. His and Jayson Hamilton's guitars intertwine in interesting webs of squealing feedback, wild glissandos, and grunge thunder. Rhythm boys Chad Sones (bass) and Jake Webster (drums) crash and thump like every engine room from Puget Sound to the Thames. What's most appealing about these guys is the way they sound like a bunch of kids playing with a new toy, one called rock 'n' roll.