In Brief

Todd Snider, “Songs for the Daily Planet,” Margaritaville/MCA (** 1/2). Snider is a first-class wit who has a way with an array of folk, rock and country styles--the tracks on this debut range from power pop to stone honky-tonk to the goofy Dylan/Guthrie-esque bonus track “Talkin’ Seattle Blues.” But the wordplay and style-play come on so thick that it’s hard to see if there’s any heart behind it.

New albums are rated on a scale of one star (poor), two stars (fair), three stars (good) and four stars (excellent).