It's not often that a band has enough confidence to broadcast the fact that they spent a mere 17 days writing their newest offering with an album title to that effect. Testimony to 3 Doors Down's explosive success with "Away from the Sun," the very essence of their third album, "Seventeen Days," lies in more of the same. Nothing of genuine critic-swaying substance waits for discovery here; in truly predictable fashion these rockers from Mississippi plod the trail of consistency and security. That is not to say the music is anything short of excellent listening. It's just that if you were never a fan, their redemption will remain some ways off.

Those among us who have always thought the term "sensitive rockers" an oxymoron of sorts will find 3 Doors Down in perfect character for the part of "middle-of-the-road musician." There's little to complicate the lyrics, tunes or arrangements, and sometimes that has its merits. For instance the first single, "Let Me Go," is all about simplicity. Lacking the instant hook that propelled their hits "Kryptonite" and "Here Without You" to inevitable overplay on radio, the quintet settle this time for a conventional, unexceptional guitar and percussion melody. Convolution is also a rarity in the lyrics: "You love me but you don't know who I am / I am torn between this life I lead and where I stand / You love me but you don't know who I am / So let me go ... let me go" have the undemanding sincerity of the band's previous hits.

Sincerity, indeed, is perhaps the overarching virtue of 3 Doors Down, making them accessible to crowds spanning Coldplay and Linkin Park fans, which, diverse as they are, have become unmistakably mainstream. There's a half-hearted inclination towards louder, heavier arrangements in a number of the other tracks in "Seventeen Days," but it gets invariably lost again in slower, strummed tunes like the closer "Here By Me" and "Landing in London." The latter, in particular, seems destined for extended play with its violin-infused melancholy and "Here Without You"-esque turns of melody.

But it is the former's subdued acoustic strains that will touch those looking for reflections of their lives in post-grunge. In fact, "Here By Me" might just be the gem among a decent collection of semi-precious stones. As indistinguishable as the songs seem from one another on first listen, intensity of feeling pulls this one through.

A note of defiance opens "Live for Today," edgier than most of the rest of the album, but it's still not the outright, in-your-face angst that one hopes for in these self-affirming anthems. Of considerably more credible songwriting is the somewhat out-of-character (although, admittedly, it veers towards obscurity amidst heavier cuts) opener "Right Where I Belong." Underscored by electronic energy, it has enough liveliness and variation to have introduced an album of much more varied tracks. Instead, we find ourselves lounging back in familiarity, which, of course, is exactly what some of us want. For the remainder, this multiple-Grammy-nominated band can only hope that "Seventeen Days" doesn't breed contempt anytime soon.