The sophomore effort from St. Louis'
Stir, while being the product of obviously talented musicians, fails to show much distinction from the majority of the late-1990s' alterna-pop bands. Though you can occasionally hear flashes of
U2 or
Big Star in their brand of power pop, the overall radio-friendly nature of songs makes them seem rather formulated. Still, it's altogether possible they have a landmark album in them somewhere. ~ Matt Fink