By MIKE ROSS --

Fans of the Watchmen are often at a loss to explain exactly why they like this unassuming Winnipeg band.

On the surface, it sounds like every other Canadian modern rock group - pleasant melodies over crunchy guitars and sturdy beats; "granola music," as some have called it.

But to see the Watchmen live - which you can, tonight at the Convention Centre - you'll get a feeling that there's much more to it than that. Spirituality? Honesty? Sensitivity? It's really hard to pin down.

One local fan, known as the Tape Lady, came the closest: "They have soul."

The Watchmen are kind of in a class of their own. Guitarist Joey Serlin is willing to talk about business - trying to get a U.S. release for their new album Brand New Day and so on - without the usual "we only care about our music." He'll try to explain what his songs are about without the usual "Hey, it's just a song, you know?"

And they're so polite. While Oasis can make the cover of Rolling Stone for being drunken louts (drunken louts with a hit record, mind you, but you can bet they wouldn't have landed that plum if they were choir boys), the Watchmen - which could blow those shoe-phobic Brits off the stage - haven't a single black mark on their record. And, unfortunately, they get much less media attention than they deserve.

Says Serlin: "We were thinking we should get one of us hooked up on coke and maybe get in some kind of trouble, get in some scraps, and we'd probably be huge. It seems like that's the way it works these days."

Even so, this band is on its way up.

Like the Tragically Hip, the Watchmen grew up and learned their craft completely within the band, slowly building up a grassroots following across Canada. Every trip through, crowds seem to get bigger and more loyal.

Maybe there's a lesson here: With soul, you don't need attitude.