Hyped as the hottest group in decades to come from that island across the ocean, Oasis, the British quintet-behind-the-buzz, has quite a reputation to live up to.

Oasis and their album Definitely Maybe score points for bravado and song craft, but lack in the gods-of-music-past category. While screaming critics proclaim the group as the Sex Beatles, the monicker may not be 100 percent on the money.

The brit vox of lead crooner Liam Gallagher recalls shades of John Lennon with a sore throat, and the distortion and fuck-the-establishment attitude is strangely Rotten --Johnny, that is.

On the two singles, "Supersonic" and the buzz-clipped "Live Forever", the band provides a hint of past influences. Their Beatle haircuts and bad boy image, makes the shaggy reference to a "Yellow Submarine" in "Supersonic" strangely surreal. But let's face it -- 1995 is not going be another summer of love.

Despite the year, the synthesis of punk and flower rock works fairly well. Power ditty "Rock 'n' Roll Star" opens the disc nicely, waving and flaunting the banner of the new rock order. "I live my life for the stars that shine/people say it's just a waste of time."

The rest of the tunes hold up well, there is no "Anarchy in the UK" nor "Yesterday" floating around, but the potential is there. The problem is the angry punk of the overrated Sex Pistols can easily be duplicated, but the fab four wore much bigger shoes.

At least these guys are trying, which is more than can be said for a lot of England's current new music output. The first step is to take something from the old, and make it your own. These Oasis boys have done this on their record, but the hard part is ahead.

In the meantime, the debut disc sets up many possibilities. This band is going to be big -- maybe.