In Brief

Todd & the Monsters’ songs are the musical equivalent of Salisbury steak--not as much trashy fun as, say, a Big Mac, but not sophisticated or substantial enough to qualify as fine cuisine either. Still, those who enjoy an occasional helping of earnest, hummable, R&B-inflected; guitar-rock will find at least a few tunes to sink their teeth into on this new album.

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Albums are rated on a scale of one star (poor) to four stars (excellent).

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Hear the Music

* Excerpts from these albums and other recent releases are available on The Times’ World Wide Web site. Point your browser to: http://161.35.110.226/soundclips