Entertainment

Spoon-feed us masterful rock

SPOON

“Transference”

****

* “Indie rock” is often code for music so pretentious you need a Williamsburg address to appreciate it. Not so with the Texas band Spoon, whose seventh album, “Transference,” is a rock masterpiece: It’s totally accessible yet somehow stands outside of the mainstream. The arrangements are all simple nods to guitar, bass and drum minimalism, but it doesn’t all sound alike — the range stretches from atmospheric dirges to jangly pop. Especially seductive is the soaring, Bono-esque optimism of “The Mystery Zone” and the slinky blues of “I Saw the Light.” This is a no-risk disc; a free taste test is online at npr.org.

VARIOUS ARTISTS

“Crazy Heart” soundtrack

**½

* As they say in Nashville, “the harder the life, the sweeter the song.” That’s the core of this world-weary, hard-drinking, love-lost soundtrack that supports the new Jeff Bridges’ movie. Bridges is an able singer (as he proved in “The Contender,” when he reprised Johnny Cash’s “Ring of Fire”), yet he pales alongside the disc’s country and blues giants: Buck Owens, Lightnin’ Hopkins, Waylon Jennings and Townes Van Zandt. Album producer T-Bone Burnett also co-wrote the theme song, “The Weary Kind,” with singer Ryan Bingham; it just won the Golden Globe for best original song.

VARIOUS ARTISTS

“2010 Grammy Nominees”

****

* The annual Grammy collection remains the best chronicler of what was hot in music. Confusion aside (the 2010 edition is all about ’09), this year’s edition reflects the dominance of female pop singers, with selections by Beyoncé, Taylor Swift, Colbie Caillat, Katy Perry, Pink, Kelly Clarkson, Adele and, of course, Lady Gaga. There’s also an emphasis on country crossover (selections by Sugarland, Lady Antebellum and Rascal Flatts) and nostalgia: Eric Clapton and Steve Winwood reprising their old Blind Faith classic “Can’t Find My Way Home.” Wanna sneak peek at the winners come Grammy night Jan. 31? Listen to this disc.

DANNY BARNES

“Pizza Box”

***

* We’re thankful nobody told Danny Barnes you can’t play rock ’n’ roll on banjo — or maybe he just didn’t listen. With a boost from his pal Dave Matthews, Barnes’ album rocks and twangs, with the snap of pop and the doom of the blues. Most of the songs are short, character-based stories about life in the USA. That’s Matthews singing backup on the album opener “Caveman,” one of many songs about relationships.

MOTION CITY SOUNDTRACK

“My Dinosaur Life”

***

* On their major label bow, Minnesota’s Motion City Soundtrack delivers a bouncy pop record with a dozen songs that can stand as radio-friendly singles. It’s a party record with all the musical exuberance of Weezer on laughing gas. The best are a strum ’n’ hum number “Stand Too Close,” which fades into a fast drum-powered pop, and the doo-wop punk song “Worker Bee.” This is the one that might make the band an international star.

dan.aquilante@nypost.com