Become What You Are: The Juliana Hatfield Three (Atlantic) Greetings from Uncle Sam: Various (Columbia) Sweet Relief: Various (Columbia).JUDGING by recent releases, American ''alternative'' rock is at least three lengths clear of the field, and The Juliana Hatfield Three should add a good head to that lead. Become What You Are is a delightfully crafted slab of Mall-rat Americana, reminiscent of The Lemonheads. What both share is the ear for a strong pop melody entwined with an accomplished rock noise which juts, jars, jumps and is never less than interesting. On top of that Hatfield's schoolgirl vocals and songs are wonderfully cutting: My Sister is a bitter-sweet tale of teenage sibling rivalry, Spin the Bottle, another teen fantasy about torrid party antics with a favourite star, and Super Model, ''the highest paid piece of ass/ you know it's not going to last/those magazines end up in the trash ''. Become What You Are is Hatfield's second album, and a track from her first appears on Greetings from Uncle Sam, a compilation which features many of the groups who have put the American Alternative at the front - Dinosaur Jr, The Lemonheads, L7, Faith NoMore, Sugar and a host of others. Sweet Relief has tracks from Evan Dando, Buffalo Tom and Soul Asylum, along with Maria McKee, Michelle Shocked and a outing from Lou Reed. It is a benefit album for Victoria Williams, a singer/songwriter who has multiple sclerosis, and all the bands cover her songs. Notable tracks are Pearl Jam's version of Mary, with backing vocals from Williams (recorded before her illness), Matthew Sweet's delightful This Moment, and The Waterboys sing yet another song about the moon. Sweet Relief is a welcome reminder that the resurgence of American alternative rock owes nearly as much to country's development as it does to the frazzled noise merchants.