ALBUM REVIEWS : Brooks & Dunn in a Partyin’ Mood : *1/2, BROOKS & DUNN, “Borderline”, Arista

Every song on the fourth album from country’s boot scootin’ duo replays an already familiar theme, without the least twist or fresh glance that might make such territory worth revisiting.

“I Am That Man” is “I Swear, Part II,” there are two “Friday’s here--let’s party” rockers and not one but two Jimmy Buffett knock-offs: “More Than a Margarita” and “Tequila Town.”

There’s lots of sharp instrumental play and a couple of well-turned melodies, but the lack of any sense of specific lives unfolding is truly disheartening. It’s as if a demographics expert had snipped out all revealing details, figuring that the more generic the scenarios and characters, the wider the potential audience.

Maybe the theory works, but musically it’s a sobbing shame. More so considering that the pair showed on 1994’s “Waitin’ on Sundown” signs of a nascent vision that reached beyond simply stamping out hit singles.

*

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