Music Reviews In 3 Words or Less: Volume 20

Spoon - A Series of Sneaks (1998)
Best Spoon album
Touchstones: Pavement meets The Beatles
***** out of ***** stars

Free Energy - Stuck on Nothing (2010)
Debut of the Year
Touchstones: Spoon meets Thin Lizzy
***** out of ***** stars

Pants Yell! - Received Pronunciation (2009)
Jangly emo indie
Touchstones: Beulah meets Beat Happening
***** out of ***** stars

Van Halen - Van Halen (1978)
Let's rock, boys!
Touchstones: Jimi Hendrix meets ZZ Top
****1/2 out of ***** stars

Titus Andronicus - The Monitor (2010)
Rollicking drunk crunch
Touchstones: Violent Femmes meet The Pogues
****1/2 out of ***** stars

Van Halen - 5150 (1986)
A high-school soundtrack
Touchstones: Montrose meets Def Leppard
****1/2 out of ***** stars

Steely Dan - Katy Lied (1975)
Intellectual jazz pop
Touchstones: Fleetwood Mac meets The Sea and Cake
****1/2 out of ***** stars

The Long Ryders - The Best Of (2004)
College roots punk
Touchstones: Gram Parsons meets Uncle Tupelo
**** out of ***** stars

Plants and Animals - Parc Avenue (2008)
Groovy pastoral prog
Touchstones: Tom Petty meets My Morning Jacket
**** out of ***** stars

She & Him - Volume 2 (2010)
Longish but lovely
Touchstones: The Supremes meet The Beach Boys
**** out of ***** stars

Sonny & Cher - Look at Us (1965)
Summer love bubblegum
Touchstones: Phil Spector meets The Brady Bunch
**1/2 out of ***** stars