** SOUL ASYLUM, “Candy From a Stranger,” Columbia

Trafficking in its usual blend of jangle and crunch, Soul Asylum sounds uninspired and tapped out on its new collection. Frontman Dave Pirner’s halfhearted vocals don’t help matters, but not even an edgier delivery could have saved these 11 neurotic anthems full of generic angst and meaningless revelations.

The songs are constructed in parts that never quite gel, then drowned beneath layers of slick production. Brief flashes of memorable hooks on songs such as “Draggin’ the Lake” serve mostly to recall older, better melodies.

Once among ‘90s alt-rock’s more surprising success stories, Soul Asylum is in danger of ending up like Journey or any other essentially irrelevant, cookie-cutter pop act of the ‘80s. With the exception of the standout “Cradle Chain” and the desperately thrashing “Lies of Hate,” this is a lot of sound and fury, signifying nothing.

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Albums are rated on a scale of one star (poor), two stars (fair), three stars (good) and four stars (excellent).

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Hear the Music

* Excerpts from Soul Asylum’s “Candy From a Stranger” and other recent releases are available on The Times’ World Wide Web site. Point your browser to: http://video.nohib.com/soundclips