**1/2 S Club 7

S CLUB

(Interscope)

S Club 7 are the latest protégés of Simon Fuller, the British manager who founded the Spice Girls. Although the Spices unceremoniously dumped Fuller at the height of their fame, their influence looms large on the debut disc of this co-ed, multi-ethnic, British song-and-dance troupe. The seven S Clubbers, ages 17 to 22, go through a "Wannabe"-style first-name introduction sequence on "S Club Party," and they include among their ranks dead ringers for both Robbie Williams and Baby Spice. They've even got their own TV show on the Fox Family Channel, a cute, post-Saved by the Bell romp where they traipse across America trying to make it as a band.

On disc, S Club 7 pick two of the Spice Girls' most infectious musical personalities to emulate. "Everybody Wants Ya" is a sunny, horn-driven number that captures the Motown flavor of the late-era Spice smash "Stop"; both "Viva La Fiesta" and "It's a Feel Good Thing" do the sexy Latin shake of "Spice Up Your Life." The girls get to do most of the singing, and there are a few ballads and believe-in-yourself positivity mantras to offset the party tracks. S Club is about as lightweight as it gets, but it's definitely more fun than another tedious Spice solo album.

-- Sean Richardson