GRETCHEN WILSON I Got Your Country Right Here [Redneck Records] Gretchen Wilson’s 2004 debut album Here for the Party was a bawdy, ballsy blast of old-school attitude that knocked the country music establishment on its ear. But while that album succeeded by being refreshingly different from the moribund mainstream country of the moment, each successive release has been marked by an ever-constricting musical conservatism that has served only to... 

GREAT AMERICAN TAXI Reckless Habits [Thirty Tigers] Great American Taxi takes a highway through the heartland that leads straight from the Mississippi Delta to the Colorado Rockies, dissecting other equally diverse realms in between. Born out of an all-star jam session featuring singer and keyboardist Chad Staehly and singer, guitarist and mandolin player Vince Herman of Leftover Salmon, Great American Taxi grew rapidly into a full-blown combo five... 

REISSUE REVIEW IGGY AND THE STOOGES Raw Power (Legacy Edition) [Columbia/Legacy] There’s something unsettling about seeing one of the most chaotic and dangerous bands ever to destroy a stage institutionalized in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, but this year indeed marks Iggy Pop and his Stooges’ induction. Likewise, it’s a little odd to be confronted with a fancy expanded reissue of something as primal and fierce as 1973’s Raw Power, an album... 

VARIOUS ARTISTS The New Jazz Divas [Shout! Factory] The press material for this release—the first in NPR’s Discover Songs series—reference by first-name-only the divas who came before: Ella, Sarah, Dinah, Nina, Billie, Anita. The implication, one supposes, is that some day you will also come to know Madeleine, Esperanza, Eliane, Tierney and Melody in the same way. Whether those contemporary women (surnames: Peyroux, Spalding, Elias, Sutton and... 

THE SOJOURNERS The Sojourners [Black Hen Music] While each member  has been active in the music industry for decades, this trio first teamed in 2003 to record backing vocals for bluesman Jim Byrnes. The chemistry among Marcus Mosely, Will Sanders and Ron Small was immediate, and the group made its debut as the Sojourners with 2007’s Hold On. The self-titled follow-up is an irresistible set filled with robust performances, easygoing charm and a... 

MARTIN SEXTON Sugarcoating [KTR] On his eighth studio album, Sugarcoating, folk singer-songwriter Martin Sexton employs his impressive baritone in such a range of vocal tricks that you’d be forgiven for forgetting about his guitar prowess. On any given tune, you might hear his voice gliding into a flawless falsetto, or aping a robust trumpet or strings. In fact, it’s sometimes impossible to discern which sounds are created by wood or brass, and... 

JOE BONAMASSA Black Rock [J&R Adventures] On his 10th solo album, veteran guitar-slinger Joe Bonamassa reminds us right off the bat how he earned his reputation as one of the world’s top blues-rock axemen—opening with some heavy riffing and a raw-throated bellow with Bobby Parker’s “Steal Your Heart Away.” Named after the Greek studio where it was recorded, Black Rock does expand Bonamassa’s sonic palette with dashes of local sounds,... 

JIMI HENDRIX Valleys of Neptune [Experience Hendrix/Legacy] Jimi Hendrix was active as a recording artist for only about four years before his death in 1970 at age 27. Luckily for us, he appears to have been playing and recording during practically every moment of that relatively brief period—enough to sustain posthumous archival releases for 40 years now. The latest, Valleys of Neptune, is drawn mostly from the transitional period in 1969 when... 

THE APPLES IN STEREO Travellers in Space and Time [Yep Roc/Simian] Travellers in Space and Time should put a stop to all those press clippings that associate the Apples with the early-’60s California sound. Sure, Robert Schneider still has that sunny voice that would make any Grandma want to pinch his cheeks for all eternity. But this is the Archies meets ELO meets Saturday Night Fever—in short, the most ass-shaking thing the band has ever done.... 

DR. DOG Shame, Shame [Anti-] Dr. Dog, to borrow a line from Brian Wilson, just wasn’t made for these times. The Philly quintet has always been nostalgic, taking its cues from the Beach Boys, Beatles and Band—and on its sixth album, the group once again bows to its heroes. That said, Shame, Shame is no psychedelic love-in. The songs are deceptively cheery, their ’60s touchstones stoking a buzz their lyrics seek to kill. On such songs as “Stranger”... 

THE WHIGS In the Dark [ATO] On their second major label offering, Athens, Ga., trio the Whigs expand their ambitions to create a stylistic mesh of alt-rock, garage-rock and more. In the Dark is built on propulsive rhythms and unrelenting intensity that circle the divide midway between Kings of Leon and U2. Singer Parker Gispert veers towards the dark side, particularly when he’s raging and ranting via “Hundred/Million,” “Black Lotus” and... 

GOLDFRAPP Head First [Mute] Eight years into their career, the British synth-pop duo of Alison Goldfrapp and Will Gregory took a brief detour from the dancefloor for 2008’s acoustic-leaning Seventh Tree, followed by the score for the 2009 John Lennon biopic Nowhere Boy. With Head First, they return to the buoyant beats of their highly accessible electronica. “I’m feeling alive again,” Goldfrapp sings on “Alive.” That relentless affirmation... 

JOHN HIATT The Open Road [New West] From 1986’s Bring the Family forward, John Hiatt had a reputation for being rock’s poet laureate of complex contentedness, singularly gifted at chronicling the joys of family and sobriety in a way that still sounded complicated, messy, poetic and greasy. Even so, there were a few of us longtime fans who hankered for Hiatt to get back in touch with the more malcontented side he showed early in his career, and... 

DVD REVIEW TA.M.I. SHOW [Shout! Factory] Teenage Awards Music International (T.A.M.I.) was intended to be a nonprofit organization benefiting teens around the world, one that would draw attention through a series of concerts and awards shows. The organization quickly fizzled, but the 1964 kickoff show was one for the ages—the Rolling Stones, the Beach Boys, James Brown, Chuck Berry and eight other top-level acts of the day, all at the peak of their... 

PETER GABRIEL Scratch My Back [Real World] Peter Gabriel fans have learned to have the patience of Job. His last album of original songs was 2002’s so-so Up; now at last we have the follow-up, and it’s a collection of—wait for it—covers. He reunites here with producer Bob Ezrin (who also helmed Gabriel’s 1977 self-titled solo debut), and together they frame Gabriel’s voice using only piano and strings. Much of the material here is slow,... 

ALOHA Home Acres [PolyVinyl] Aloha makes much of the fact that its band members live all over the country—keyboardist T.J. Lipple in Washington, D.C., singer and guitarist Tony Cavallario in Boston, bass player Matthew Gengler in Cleveland and drummer Cale Parks in Brooklyn—and periodically get together to make music. It’s fitting, then, that their sound is a little like an airplane in flight: It floats gracefully through the heavens by means... 

JOANNA NEWSOM Have One on Me [Drag City] Harpist, pianist and singer Joanna Newsom doesn’t seem to have been in any hurry to deliver her highly anticipated third album, her first in four years. Likewise, the tunes on the three-disc Have One on Me refuse to be rushed—melodies meander, introductions stretch languidly and defiantly, and more tracks than not extend past the six-minute mark. The expansiveness often suits Newsom’s unique sound, particularly... 

BARENAKED LADIES All in Good Time [Raisin’ Records] Nearly two decades have passed since Barenaked Ladies burst on the scene with such crowd-pleasers as “If I Had $1000000.” Tagged early on as a novelty act, the Canadian group has since evolved into a sophisticated pop band, albeit one that continues to serve up its songs with a wink and a nod. For the most part, All in Good Time marks another solid step in that evolution. Rife with shimmery... 

BLACK FRANCIS NonStopErotik [Cooking Vinyl] Occasional Pixies leader Black Francis has tended to alternate between albums full of honeyed crooning (Honeycomb, aptly enough) and noisy collections of unhinged sonic mayhem (Bluefinger). He marries the two on his latest, making for an intriguing union that turns unsettling with creepy vocals on the minor-key ballad “Rabbits” and the seemingly unconnected rhythm track that chugs along under “My... 

NATALIE MERCHANT Leave Your Sleep [Nonesuch] It’s been seven years since the last Natalie Merchant album, and the wait for completely original material continues with no end in sight. Though she’s back penning tunes, the words on this new set are the work of classic English and American poets. In its reverence for e.e. cummings and Robert Louis Stevenson, this feels less like an album and more like a university recital one might attend for extra... 

SERJ TANKIAN Elect the Dead Symphony [Reprise] Armed with guitars, keyboards and drums, his usual weapons of choice, Serj Tankian approaches songwriting like guerrilla warfare. As a solo artist and leader of System of a Down, the Armenian-American singer and multi-instrumentalist makes music that hits, recoils, changes shape, then hits again. His best songs marry nü-metal aggression and Old World mystery. This live album, recorded in March 2009,... 

JEFF BECK Emotion & Commotion [Rhino] Jeff Beck speaks through his guitar, and he only does so when he has something to say—the seven-year break between Emotion & Commotion and its predecessor, the electronica-minded Jeff, was one of several such extended breaks in a career that now stretches for more than four decades. What he has to say in 2010 may at first seem puzzling, but by album’s end reveals itself as characteristically sharp,... 

THE VOYCES Let Me Die in Southern California thevoyces.net The psychedelic spelling doesn’t detract from the meaning behind the band’s moniker, specifically the gentle cooing harmonies that grace these evocative offerings. Aptly, Let Me Die in Southern California finds the Voyces parceling out breezy soft rock and a quiet contemplation ideally suited to Pacific coast environs. Bucolic sentiments, graceful melodies and a gentle lilt prevail throughout.  Read More →

VARIOUS ARTISTS Celebrating the Music of Lowen & Navarro: Keep the Light Alive aixrecords.com Lowen & Navarro might have been heir apparent to Simon & Garfunkel, Loggins & Messina or The Everly Brothers had the duo ever found its way to the music industry mainstream. Sadly, it took Eric Lowen’s battle with ALS to earn this well-deserved tribute, featuring big-name acts like Jackson Browne, the Bangles and Keb’ Mo’ among others.... 

STONEHONEY Songs From a Hillside Living Room stonehoney.com Stonehoney draws from country-rock influences like Poco, The Flying Burrito Brothers and the Eagles. Armed with blazing guitars, an appropriate dapple of pedal steel and sweeping harmonies, the group turns such songs as “Two Years Down,” “Cry Baby Cry” and “Melinda” into jubilant anthems that grab notice on first encounter. With each member of the quintet contributing to the... 

ROBERT POLLARD We All Got Out of the Army robertpollard.net For his latest, former Guided By Voices leader Robert Pollard sets aside aliases such as Circus Devils, Airport 5 and Go Back Snowball to operate under his own moniker. That said, the man’s so prolific that the multiple monikers are a necessity if anyone wants to keep some sort of order. The Ohio native’s latest finds him busy as ever, cranking out 17 tracks of angular, edgy pop whose... 

ELLIS PAUL The Day After Everything Changed ellispaul.com After spending the majority of his recording career on Rounder Records, Ellis Paul turned to fans for the financing of his latest project—and he has rewarded their investment with his most accomplished album yet. Assisted by an adept backing band, he shifts effortlessly from breathless ballads (“Once Upon a Summertime,” “Dragonfly”) to steadfast rockers (“Walking After Midnight”)... 

PETER LACEY Behind the Scenes pinkhedgehog.com British journeyman and veritable one-man symphony Peter Lacey made his mark with immaculate chamber pop, but he’s lately expanded his parameters with two new albums. South Downs Way, a collaboration with Stephen J. Kalinich, found him exploring pastoral reflection and rugged folk narratives. Now Behind the Scenes spotlights charmingly whimsical designs in ways regal and retro, using elaborate orchestral... 

THE KAISER CARTEL Rock Island myspace.com/kaisercartel With Courtney Kaiser the prominent voice and partner Benjamin Cartel supplying graceful accompaniment and hushed harmonies, duo The Kaiser Cartel creates an ethereal glow that’s all bittersweet sentiment and emo expression. This new five-song EP’s opening track, “Carroll Street Station,” makes for a grabby intro, but otherwise the instrumentation is kept rather sparse—a tumble of acoustic... 

JAMIE & STEVE English Afterthought myspace.com/spongetones For over 30 years, the Spongetones have been among indie rock’s best-kept secrets. The North Carolina combo has labored relentlessly, turning out Anglo-infused power pop and retro rock brimming with shimmering hooks, radiant harmonies and irresistible melodies. Though stripped down to its pair of principals, Jamie Hoover and Steve Stoeckel (with other Spongetones lending support), English... 

THE FIRE MARSHALS OF BETHLEHEM The World From the Back Seat thefmob.com Their handle aside, the Fire Marshals of Bethlehem are neither incendiary nor biblical, instead aiming for a communal sound that rings with the flawless congeniality of the Cowsills or ’70s-prime Fleetwood Mac. That blend of sweet sentiments, driven by Julie Lowery’s cheery, chirpy vocals, Jenny Smith’s violin and the group’s uniformity of purpose, helps to drive a series... 

THE DOUGHBOYS Act Your Rage thedoughboysnj.com Who said there’s no going home again? Certainly not The Doughboys, who reconvened in 2007 to make their debut album 32 years after their initial schoolboy incarnation. Unsurprisingly, the band treads the same ’60s blues-rock terrain first explored by the Rolling Stones, the Yardbirds, Them and others. Singer Myke Scavone provides a credible Jagger-esque swagger, though he shares the spotlight with... 

JASON CRIGLER The Music of Jason Crigler jasoncriglermusic.com On Aug. 4, 2004, guitarist Jason Crigler suffered a brain hemorrhage onstage. Miraculously, he not only recovered but went on to complete his masterpiece, assisted by friends including Marshall Crenshaw, Teddy Thompson and Erin McKeown. The buoyantly infectious vibe of The Music of Jason Crigler belies any adversity. The radiant “See the Sun” and the seductive “When the Morning Comes”... 

CARY COOPER Dirty Little Secret carycooper.com With her muted delivery and acoustic accompaniment, Cary Cooper projects the fragile, self-effacing image of a forlorn folkie dwelling among dark shadows. But there’s a ruminative beauty that radiates through Dirty Little Secret songs like “Edge of the World,” “Wondering” and the title track. Cooper occasionally injects spunk and spark into her quiet laments, as evidenced by the unexpected appearance... 

ERIC BRACE & LAST TRAIN HOME Six Songs redbeetrecords.com Reconvening his longtime country combo after an extended break, Brace tackles a broad set of standards, varying the styles for a dazzlingly diverse EP. Here, Brace and company provide a pensive sway with “Always Raining on My Street” and then shift into a party mode on “Soul Parking.”  While it’s somewhat surprising to hear Brace croon “What Now My Love”—especially in French—or... 

LEE ALEXANDER & CO. Mayhaw Vaudeville alexandersongs.com Lee Alexander’s penchant for backwoods melodies and forlorn sensibilities fuses on Mayhaw Vaudeville with his sepia-tinted delivery. Including songs boasting a warbling croon sung through a tinny megaphone, Alexander mines his Vaudeville muse through a preponderance of weary, bluesy ballads. That said, a few jauntier excursions (”Okemah Moon,” the traditional folk tune “Maggie Mae”)... 

BOX SET Dave Matthews Band Europe 2009 [Bama Rags/RCA] “You are my obsession!” Dave Matthews sings during “Seven”—no doubt taking the worshipful words right out of his one-track-minded audience’s mouths. It will indeed take a certain kind of obsessive to spring for Europe 2009, a not-inexpensive four-disc set that uses one DVD to present a nearly three-hour London show from last summer, then spreads an even longer Italian gig across three... 

AHMAD JAMAL A Quiet Time [Dreyfus Jazz] One of the most criminally overlooked masters in jazz is pianist Ahmad Jamal, who scored a best-selling album in 1958 (But Not for Me: Ahmad Jamal At the Pershing) and has weathered every seismic shift in the music since without giving up his ideals or succumbing to trends. Longevity is only meaningful if an artist still has the goods, though, and Jamal certainly does. Coming from an 80-year-old who could easily... 

DAVID BOWIE A Reality Tour [ISO/Sony Legacy] David Bowie hasn’t released a new album in seven years, by far the longest break from recording of his career. Finally, in 2010, we get … a live album recorded in 2003 and already released on DVD in 2004? Its release on CD at this point may be puzzling, but the actual content of A Reality Tour nonetheless demonstrates that Bowie’s most recent major tour found him in excellent form. The performer... 

SUGAR BLUE Threshold [Beeble] Known mostly as the musician who contributed the wailing harmonica riff on the Rolling Stones’ “Miss You,” Sugar Blue has maintained a vibrant career path ever since, offering consistent homage to such esteemed predecessors as Big Walter Horton, Carey Bell, James Cotton and Junior Wells. While Threshold continues to echo that bluesy legacy, it also finds him diversifying his palette with blues, R&B and funk.... 

GARY ALLAN Get Off on the Pain [MCA Nashville] Leave it to Gary Allan to make ex sex sound romantic: “Kiss Me When I’m Down,” a standout track from his latest album, cleverly disguises a booty call with a sweeping melody and rich steel-and-strings orchestration. That kind of sly juxtaposition dominates Get Off on the Pain, Allan’s eighth studio album. He and coproducers Greg Droman and Mark Wright layer robust guitars, steel, piano, Wurlitzer,... 

NEIL SEDAKA The Music of My Life [Razor & Tie] While the days have long passed when Neil Sedaka’s brand of songwriting dominated the airwaves, the 70-year-old veteran holds true to the classic-sounding piano pop that made him a star in the early 1960s and a comeback kid in the mid-’70s. The Music of My Life proves that Sedaka has lost none of his touch. Rife with energetic melodies, elegant arrangements and an old-school showman’s flair,... 

THE MAGNETIC FIELDS Realism [Nonesuch] After swathing their songs in bristling feedback for 2008’s Distortion, the Magnetic Fields take the opposite approach on their latest. Leader Stephin Merritt calls Realism their “folk album”—but this is variety-show folk with a knowing, occasionally ironic undertone. The instrumentation is mostly acoustic, with guitar, bouzouki, cello, horns and hand percussion. It’s fairly straightforward on the opening... 

JULIAN LENNON AND JAMES SCOTT COOK Lucy [theRevolution] We all recall blushing at the sight of our first innocent childhood crush. Such thoughts are the essence of “Lucy,” the title track from the new EP by Julian Lennon and James Scott Cook. Inspired in part by the same real-life girl who was famously “in the sky with diamonds” in a little ditty penned by Lennon’s dad, the song is short on story and long on wordless choruses. Yet when the... 

CARRIE NEWCOMER Before and After [Rounder] In the acknowledgements for her 11th solo studio album, folk singer/songwriter Carrie Newcomer thanks several friends for passing down stories that inspired various songs. It’s just the first in a series of nods to folkloric tradition: These 13 original compositions also boast quietly uncomplicated arrangements and minimalist metaphors. This simplistic approach is occasionally twee, as when Newcomer borrows... 

HOT CHIP One Life Stand [Astralwerks] Hot Chip’s warm and fuzzy fourth album is not without its bangers, but even when this London electro-pop quartet is gunning for the clubs, it’s thinking about what’s waiting at home. Almost too sweet for their beats, the thumping, bumping likes of “I Feel Better” and “We Have Love” are about finding comfort in the arms of another. The album’s 10 tracks rank among the mellowest and most melodic... 

ALLISON MOORER Crows [Rykodisc] For an artist whose career has been built on darkly gorgeous  hymns to melancholy, suddenly finding yourself happily married is an occupational hazard. Allison Moorer’s 2006 album Getting Somewhere found her working with new husband Steve Earle, and some measure of inspiration was lost between the earnest sunniness of the songs and Earle’s overbearing production stamp. Last year’s covers album Mockingbird was... 

CHARLOTTE GAINSBOURG IRM [Elektra] There’s a lot of baggage attached to the Gainsbourg name: Serge Gainsbourg was the enfant terrible of French erotic whisper pop, and the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree when it comes to daughter Charlotte. Her previous 5:55 engaged the talents of Air and Pulp’s Jarvis Cocker to provide music and lyrics. This time it’s Beck who fills that role, bringing his whimsical sense of arrangement to the “Motorcycle... 

FOUR TET There Is Love in You [Domino] Even those who aren’t fans of electronic music would find it difficult not to be impressed by Kieran Hebden’s resume. A former member of the U.K. post-rock band Fridge, Hebden embarked on a solo career a decade ago under the moniker Four Tet, and since then has recorded four albums, opened for Radiohead and provided remixes for an eclectic group of artists that includes everyone from Bloc Party to Black... 

SPOON Transference [Merge Records] Long known as a bastion of alternative country, Austin has also spawned some of America’s most adventurous pop bands. At the top of the heap stands Spoon, a quartet that strives to balance experimental art rock with jagged guitar pop in a way that’s palatable to mainstream listeners. Transference achieves that goal better than anything the group has released thus far. Packed with angular guitars, staccato...