(U-WIRE) PITTSBURGH — Is Sum 41 frontman Deryck Whibley a modern-day John Lennon? Hardly. But he flatters himself with this wishful comparison on the band’s latest release, “Underclass Hero.” The album title draws oh-so-hopefully from Lennon’s hapless single “Working Class Hero,” off the 1970 album “John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band.”

In fact, lyrical comparisons of “Working Class Hero” and Sum 41’s title track line up almost thought-for-thought. Lennon sings: “When they’ve tortured and scared you for 20 odd years/ Then they expect you to pick a career/ … / Keep you doped with religion and sex and TV/ And you think you’re so clever and class-less and free.”

Whibley, in not-so-subtle mimicry, belts out: “Well I won’t be caught living in a dead end job/ While praying to my government, guns and God/ Now it’s us against them/ We’re here to represent/ And spit right in the face of the establishment.”

So who exactly is Sum 41 fighting? Society, in all its many forms and influences. “I’m the voice to offend/ All those who pretend/ Unsung against the grain/ I’m here to rise against,” the boys cry in the title track.

If Whibley and Sum 41 really wanted to rise up against the masses and strain against the grain, why did they release an album of songs that pulls so heavily from other artists, not to mention that sounds suspiciously like the group’s previous work?

Caffeine-fueled drum passages and mosh-happy power chords dominate “Underclass Hero,” resulting in a tired product. Like a college student studying late into the night, the illusion of energy is here in the tracks, but Sum 41 is mostly just running on Red Bull. Not only that, but the title track’s pre-chorus is a dead-ringer for the band’s 2001 single “Fat Lip” — the guitar parts are practically interchangeable.

“Walking Disaster” sounds like Blink 182 circa “Take off Your Pants and Jacket,” with echoing piano passages and soulful sung-spoken vocals. The track picks up after a sensitive intro and launches back into upbeat chord-smashing. Admittedly more complex than Sum 41 has sounded before, “Walking Disaster” paddles through a bridge, verses and a chorus of differently paced and textured musical styles.

“Dear Father” departs from Sum 41’s usual rapid-fire drum cadence with more subtle percussion, and this rock ballad is heartfelt, if conventional. In the same vein, “Count Your Last Blessings” tries something different with a high-pitched looping piano line and lyrics that escalate into a hollered-out, catchy chorus. There’s more done with vocal background harmony here than on any of the album’s other 13 tracks.

“The Jester” starts off with acoustic chord ascension similar to that of “Working Class Hero,” before Sum 41 retracts this sensitivity and whips back into full-throttle punk mode. Then, as if the boys work up the courage after testing the waters, “So Long Goodbye” and “Look at Me” hold this solemn tone and soul-baring acoustic feel throughout. While both tracks feel genuine, “Look at Me” is even a notch above listenable.

Whibley’s voice in “Look at Me” takes on a vulnerability that his shout-out demi-whine vocals don’t allow on the upbeat tracks. With simple-enough lyrics, “Just look at me/ Will I ever be more than just a memory?/ Cause you just don’t know/ You just don’t know/ All I am is me,” the song still feels more meditative and less forced than the standard Sum 41 and borrowed fare that dominates the rest of the album.

It’s almost as if the band tires of screaming its complaints just as the listener tires of hearing them. When listeners get to track 14, if they make it that far, they might just feel guilty for all the whining they did about Sum 41’s whining.