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** (of four)

I don't like these guys too much. They don't really stand out in the pop-punk scene. Reliant K sounds like Blink 182 - their singer even kind of looks Mlike Blink 182's singer. The Reliant K frontman has two sounds - when he's singing to a slower, gentler song, his voice somewhat resembles that of Christian rock staple Michael W. Smith. (Turns out Reliant K is Christian and is signed to DC Talk's Gotee Records label.) When it's power-punk time, he adopts a phony British accent and just sounds whiny. The lyrics, fueled with despair and regret, are doubly whiny.

Half of this video sticks with shots of the band performing from a rooftop, with lots of closeups of the Blink-doppelganger frontman. The other half follows a cute little alternagirl as she walks down the street and slowly figures out that she has the ability to control time. When she walks forward, time moves normally. When she stops walking, time stops - some lady's library books freeze in mid-drop, the kid on the skateboard is stuck halfway through a trick, etc. And when she backs up a few steps, time reverses.

There's not much plot to the time-stopping thing, though - the produce-selling street vendor tosses the punk girl a magic pear or something, and the time thing begins. She's amused with it for a little while then realizes it's up to her to save the life of the nice Japanese boy who's going to get hit by a car as he crosses the street. When punk girl sees the carnage on the way, of course she backs up. Eventually backs all the way up to the fruit vendor and dodges the magic pear when it comes her way.

Kind of interesting and, shit, I've been fantasizing about having the ability to stop time since I first saw the '80s sitcom "Out of This World." I about broke my index fingers trying to jam them together in just the right way and stop time like that alien girl Evie. But, for all the narrative possibility of halting time at will, the best Hollywood has given us so far is the movie Clockstoppers and this ultimately forgettable video from Christian punk-pop band Reliant K.