The specter of another band hangs heavy over Do It Yourself, which is not too surprising, since the Seahorses are a new outfit featuring ex-Stone Roses guitarist John Squire. What is surprising is that the ghost is not Squire's former band.

It's Oasis. That newer, bigger Manchester, England, group couldn't exist without the Roses, but in 1997 the mentor has definitely turned apprentice. On Do It Yourself, Squire even co-wrote a song with Liam Gallagher (the first time Oasis' cute one has been so credited).

If the Seahorses were a less pedigreed band, they would seem shamelessly calculating; Do It Yourself is slight and pleasing rather than immediate or groundbreaking. But fans who remember the final Roses record will be grateful that Squire and producer Tony Visconti (T. Rex, David Bowie) have chosen melodicism over masturbatory heroics ("Love Is the Law" – all 7:44 of it – is a strutting, indulgent exception). Squire does bend the strings loudly on quick, crunchy anthems like "Suicide Drive" and "Round the Universe," but mostly the vibe is warm and fuzzy pop retromodernism.

The best tunes, largely written by Squire with a few contributions from the band's occasionally rousing, usually just adequate vocalist, Chris Helme, are catchy, dippy ditties – the ruminative, singsongy "Blinded by the Sun," the sprightly, "Maxwell's Silver Hammer"-esque. "Happiness Is Eggshaped" ("And love's a circle with no end," sayeth the next line). The record closes with a gorgeously orchestrated, regret-tinged ballad called "Hello." Only a spoilsport (or conspiracy buff) would point out that the latest Oasis record began with a song of the same name. (RS 762)

JASON COHEN