Although you probably don’t know who The Fratellis are, you’ve undoubtedly already heard them. Apple features the band’s catchy single “Flathead” in a recent iPod commercial. Though only a fraction of the song is used in the ad, the track features a rumble-and-tumble acoustic lick and a series of clever melody changes. It would appear the three boys from Glasgow have more going for them than the average Britpop group. Sure, they’re Scottish, but it’s definitely still Britpop.

Here’s hoping (for The Fratellis’ own sake) New Musical Express doesn’t name the band the next Arctic Monkeys, which was most definitely the new Libertines, which was briefly the new Oasis, which was supposed to be the next Beatles but just couldn’t stand the pressure.

Historically, the British press heaps zealous praise and ridiculous expectations at the feet of their youngest and most promising prospects. So maybe The Fratellis have a little too much to live up to. It’s surely unavoidable that its debut album, Costello Music, won’t change the face of music. Nor does it particularly distinguish The Fratellis from the thousands of groups that briefly become NME’s absolute favorite band to plug for the next 24 hours.

Nevertheless, the album rocks, maybe not quite hard enough or weird enough to stand out, but it rocks. Like so many debuts, Costello Music is a hit-or-miss affair, a nice start for a band with some of that awful, awful curse of a word: potential.

As far as single fare goes, “Flathead” is as good as it gets. No other song approaches the foot-thumping, dance-floor-shaking tenacity of the song, and the rest of the album lacks a lot of the originality and chances taken in “Flathead.”

But occasionally, The Fratellis get raucous enough to forgive the familiar formula. “Chelsea Dagger” features a pounding bass line and fuzz guitar and enough hooks fit to keep you humming through the day. The opening track, “Henrietta,” is one of the more blatantly Oasis moments, yet it is an immensely enjoyable one.

The song wears The Fratellis mantra on its sleeve: “Clean out the bank and bump off your daddy/You can come live with us amongst the has-beens and the addicts/These are crazy times down at Costello Music.” As evidenced with “Henrietta,” the self-proclaimed three lonely boys – all three misleadingly bear the last name Fratelli on the band’s website – stumble and rock through would-be anthems on sex, drugs, ultra-violence and, well, not much else.

Things get a little rough on the slower numbers as the songs lapse into half-baked Kinks-y character pieces, minus Ray Davies’ unmatchable eye for English idiosyncrasy. For example, the not-so lovable “Vince The Lovable Stoner” is the first real clunker.

“Whistle for the Choir” is a pleasant ditty, but it may come a little too close to a more coherent, less spectacular version of The Libertines’ “What Katie Did.” Without Pete Doherty’s lyrical flair (when he gets sober enough to write, it’s usually quite good), Jon Fratelli tells his night-out-on-the-town stories and morning-after putdowns with bare competence.

More often than not, Fratelli manages to get by all right, especially with sexually perverse little tales such as “Everybody Knows You Cried Last Night.” In it, Fratelli sings, “You could have been/The best that I’ve seen/Under the red light/Everybody knows you cried last night.” Though not quite as hostile as shameless rockers Louis XIV, The Fratellis does seem to have a little bit of a sick streak.

But the missteps add up (the bluesy “Doginabag,” the obligatory closer “Ole Black ‘n’ Blue Eyes”) and the high-points do not resonate nearly long enough. Costello Music is certainly worth a listen, but it just doesn’t warrant much more. The Fratellis played it safe the first time ’round, and that’s just fine, but here’s hoping the band will get a little more inventive when it comes time to record a sophomore effort.

Contact reporter Zachary Herrmann at zherrm@umd.edu.