Nickelback's Chad Kroeger produced demos for his fellow Canadians Default [ tickets ] back in 2000, and "Wasting My Time"--from their platinum debut "The Fallout"--helped the band garner the 2002 Juno for Best New Rock Group.

Nothing is broke, so they ain’t fixing it.

The 13 new tracks on "Elocation"--produced by Rick Parasher (Pearl Jam, Alice In Chains), Butch Walker (Sevendust [ tickets ]), and Kroeger--are full of the same Les-Paul-and-Mesa-Boogie crunch that adorned "The Fallout."

Default has some musical similarities to Nickelback, especially in heavier tunes like "Who Followed Who?" and "Movin' On," and that's not a bad thing. What really separates Default, though, is vocalist Dallas Smith.

Sure, Smith has graced the pages of Teen People and CosmoGirl (forgive him), but the guy has an impressive range. He soars on the single "(Taking My) Life Away," the ballad "All She Wrote" and the rocker "Crossing The Line" (on which he sounds like a brooding Maynard Keenan). And his take on Jeff Buckley’s "Cruel" is ingenious. You might think Default is another feel-good hard-blues band, but they'll sneak up on you.

Maybe--once the teen magazines stop taking up Smith's time--they'll start getting more deserved recognition.