Clints Keep Their Good Thing Going : The Clints “Hey Mom”; Tuxedo Music (** 1/2)

The Clints, who rode onto the local music scene nine years ago clad in black cowboy hats, keep clop-clop-clopping along. These alt-rock yeomen come up with good-but-not-great music that offers variety, hooks, earnest feeling and a smidgen of invention. The band’s third full-album release, “Hey Mom,” covers plenty of turf.

The title track is a strong, chugging, Offspring-like pop-punk number about existential dread, with a psychedelic wah-wah guitar and a nervous, Ozzy-ish vocal bleat sounding the alarm. The Clints then veer into jangling modern-rock fare, highlighted by “Strange,” an airy song that rides a springy beat and tough riffing en route to sounding like a better, pithier Blind Melon.

“The Crunch” is a growling grinder that evokes a more pop-leaning Korn. Lyrically, it is one of several tracks that play to the Clints’ strong suit, the heart-on-sleeve account of the pain of growing up. This one is a realistic look at how a young person can mistake sex for love and get badly burned.

Social commentary isn’t a Clints strong suit. Witness “Media,” a musically appealing but lyrically obvious surf-noir number. In “Priscilla,” the Clints disparage a woman for being too passionate and committed about social action. Aren’t passion, commitment and action punk virtues? Or maybe the Clints, who admit in a bio sheet to being “a bit sexist,” just don’t think those are virtues in young women.

The band is better off ditching its own sociopolitical lyrics in favor of the found art of “Dollar,” in which everything printed on a one-dollar bill is yowled in a strained, anguished tone that clearly communicates revulsion at pervasive worship of the almighty buck.

A local rock scene isn’t judged solely by its creative leaders. When the second- or third-tier bands are as good as the Clints, you know you’re in a healthy musical ecosystem.

(Available from Tuxedo Music, 169 S. Main St., No. 389, New York, N.Y. 10956. [914] 638-2407. E-mail: tuxmel@westnet.com)

The Clints, the Flavor and the Kreepdowns play tonight at 9 at Linda’s Doll Hut, 107 S. Adams St., Anaheim. $5. (714) 533-1286.

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CD ratings range from * (poor) to **** (excellent), with *** denoting a solid recommendation.