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Doing it for themselves in high, wide & handsome style
- by Richard Skanse

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THE FLATLANDERS
The Odessa Tapes
New West

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As if the Flatlanders’ story wasn’t already bizarre enough, The Odessa Tapes should earn Joe Ely, Butch Hancock and Jimmie Dale Gilmore a Guinness book spot for “band with the weirdest history.” Name another group that started recording and touring together 30 years after they never really formed or broke up, then discovered the tape from their barely remembered first recording session not only still existed, but after sitting in a Lubbock closet for more than three decades, was in perfect shape and sounded awesome.

These 14 tracks, including four that trio never re-recorded together, offer a crystal-clear window into the formative years of their remarkable friendship and musical bond. It’s worth noting that only Gilmore sang lead then; according to Hancock, he was being groomed as a Nashville country artist (the album eventually released as More A Legend Than A Band originally was credited to Jimmie Dale and the Flatlanders). And Ely wasn’t yet writing Flatlanders songs. Al Strehli’s “I Know You” and his sister Angela’s “The Heart You Left Behind” open and close the album. The cuts in-between include Gilmore’s now-iconic “Dallas,” with great harmonies (to which bassist/mandolinist Tony Pearson also contributed) and Hancock’s wonderful harmonica; Hancock’s “Shadow of the Moon,” which exemplifies the album’s living-room feel (it actually originated in the band’s shared home); and amusements such as Ed Vizard’s “Bhagavan Decreed.” That one is an indicator of both their spiritual explorations and the hippie-trippy times; Hancock’s titles also reflect his fascination with celestial bodies.

  Though the production is not lush and pal Steve Wesson’s Theramin-like singing saw is overused, this overnight session was intended as a demo. The fact that it’s so listenable is a testament to the skills of some long-forgotten engineers, the luck of landing in a great studio (Tommy Allsup’s L.A.-quality recording facilty) and the nascent brilliance of three young men who, thankfully, have stuck together and reached even greater heights. — LYNNE MARGOLIS

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WADE BOWEN
The Given
BNA

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Throughout his career, Wade Bowen’s star has continued to rise steadily on the Texas music scene, and now he is on the cusp of crossing over to the Nashville country big league. Before you haters scream “Sellout!” — listen. As proven by The Given, a 10-song preview of Bowen’s yet-to-be-released “official” major-label debut, the model that’s endeared him to so many fans already hasn’t changed. Bowen peppers the album with enough rock to keep things moving through the ballads; “Bad Weather,” the best of the upbeat tunes, is a collaboration with Sean McConnell, as is the other rocker, “Beat Me Down.” But as usual, the real guts are in the slower tunes (no, really, name a “fast” Bowen song without looking it up). Other than the catchy “Saturday Night,” the best songs here are co-writes with Adam Hood: “A Battle Won” and “Say Anything.” Both travel the well-worn path of strained romance. “Before These Walls Were Blue,” though, is a different type of love song for Bowen, as he addresses fatherhood eloquently and tenderly without sentimental drivel. Admittedly, you do hear a tinge of radio-friendly Nashville at play in some of the songs here. But lest there be any doubt that Bowen still deeply honors his Texas songwriter roots, he pays tribute to Townes Van Zandt by covering ‘To Live is to Fly” with help from none other than Guy Clark. Hearing them together is pure gold. How all of this will go over with a national audience remains to be seen, but based on the cards he’s showing in The Given, Bowen’s bid for the big time hasn’t impeded his integrity one bit. 
— CODY OXLEY


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JON DEE GRAHAM
Garage Sale
Freedom Records

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Ever since his outstanding 1997 solo debut, Escape from Monster Island, Jon Dee Graham has distinguished himself as one of Austin’s most reliably excellent singer-songwriters and hellaciously exciting guitarists. Though never heralded quite on the exalted level of his fellow former True Believers bandmate, Alejandro Escovedo, his own catalog and hair-raisingly great live performances are every bit as formidable, chock full of songs of ferocious honesty and harrowing beauty. His last outing, 2010’s It’s Not as Bad as It Looks, was especially riveting, as battered but resilient as Graham himself was after the wreck on the highway that sparked his title-worthy quip.

In light (or rather in the imposing shadow) of all that, Graham’s latest, Garage Sale, at first spin feels atypically well, lacking. But that’s just because it’s a grower, not a grabber. Comprised of 11 tracks recorded over a period of seven months utilizing a birthday gift of free studio time, this isn’t an album so much as a grab bag of stand-alone tunes and why-the-hell-not experiments. Given a little more time to germinate, some of these songs (“Unafraid,” “The Orphan’s Song,” “Just Like That”) might well have spawned enough of a vibe or theme around them to warrant a record with more of a statement to make, and the heartbreaking tale he sings in “Bobby Dunbar” will gut you. But Graham casually tosses them onto the same card table table here as such misfit oddities as the fit-for-a-luau instrumental “#19,” the two-minute, amp-frying caveman stomper “Where Were Yr Friends?” and, weirdest of all, “Radio Uxtmal (Venceremos),” which sounds like the theme to Sanford and Son chopped and screwed by a Spanish DJ from Mars. And therein lies the charm of Garage Sale. Nobody could ever mistake it for one of Graham’s greatest records; but as a make-me-an-offer-for-the-whole-lot box full of unset gems and lots of other random cool shit, it’s a steal of a deal. – RICHARD SKANSE

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CORB LUND
Cabin Fever
New West

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Authenticity is a rare commodity in country music these days, but Canadian Corb Lund seems to haul around a trailer full of it wherever he goes. I get the sense that more than once he’s been out digging post holes while some of his contemporaries were out shopping for jeans or getting their hair tinted. And it’s that feeling of coming from someplace that’s real that makes his music so enjoyable. His new album, Cabin Fever, is a prime example of how good music can be when it comes from real people with real life experience. Every song on it gives you the feeling that if Lund didn’t live it personally, it was imparted to him directly, probably at a bar or over a fence. From the survivalist’s dream “Gettin’ Down On the Mountain” to the foot-stomping “Gravedigger,” there’s plenty here that should be creepy, but turns out to be good fun. Even the more serious fare, like the melancholy “September,” a classic lilting cowboy tune about the girl who isn’t coming back, and the heart-wrenching “One Left In the Chamber,” are so well-written and played that they’re just a joy to hear. The Hayes Carll-infused “Bible On the Dash” is a rocking tale of musicians on the road, using the Good Book as an amulet to ward off law enforcement. Shame on any radio station that doesn’t play this song. And Lund’s cowboy street cred is on full display on “Cows Around,” and “(You Ain’t A Cowboy) If You Ain’t Been Bucked Off,” just in case you needed reminding that Canada has cowboys, too. Mix in a couple of obligatory drinking songs — “Drink Like You Mean It” and “Pour ’Em Kinda Strong” — and you have all the makings of a truly excellent country record … with authenticity to spare. — SCOTT COX

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RHETT MILLER
The Dreamer
Maximum Sunshine Records

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Sometimes sounding like a mix of Ryan Adams and Wilco (minus the experimental noise), Old 97’s frontman Rhett Miller has a tendency to depart from the alt-country side of things when it comes to his solo work. Teamed with producer Jon Brion from 2002’s The Instigator through his 2009 self-titled effort, he has always used his solo albums to freely explore the more indie-rock and pop side of his musical psyche. Miller self-produced his latest, The Dreamer, his PledgeMusic-financed first release on his own label, but Brion’s influence seems to have made a lasting impression on him. The Dreamer maintains some of Brion’s softer techniques, making the album, for the most part, a subtly arranged, mid-tempo singer-songwriter pop collection with hints of country and rock. But by swapping the orchestral element (if not the ever-present, piano-charged baroque touches) for more bare-bones acoustic arrangements, Miller’s produced his most roots-infused solo venture to date. While “Out of Love,” “Sleepwalkin’” and “Complicated Man” sound a bit like they’re out of the jangly, darkness-tinged Rough Trade Records playbook, the pedal-steel sprinkled “As Close As I Came To Being Right” (with Rosanne Cash),  “Love Grows,” and “Sweet Dreams” all reflect Miller’s Americana affection. Still, this often sulky LP, featuring whispery harmony from pal Rachael Yamagata, reveals Miller’s lovelorn tenderness, which is nicely offset by a slight gravelly vocal rasp. Abandoning his usual cleverly penned lyrics in favor of a simpler, more personal approach, Miller has dreamed up a solid assortment of songs that may not break new ground, but are certainly worth checking out. — COURTNEY SUDBRINK

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NEIL YOUNG WITH CRAZY HORSE
Americana
Reprise Records


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Though still a Canadian citizen, Neil Young has lived more years in the States than “up north” and has a stronger sense of American ideals than the average U.S. citizen (exhibit A: Farm Aid; exhibit B: “Ohio”). He also has a deep understanding of American history and the folk tradition, in which melodies were borrowed and lyrics altered to fit the situation as singers passed them around. All of which helps explain the rationale behind releasing an album full of beloved tunes such as “Oh Susannah,” “Clementine” and “This Land is Your Land,” and giving it this particular title — along with the ragged, fuzzed-out guitar, deep-throated bass and stomping rhythms that could only come from a Young/Crazy Horse incarnation. As these songs make clear, this gang could perform the phone book (if they could find one) and make it compelling listening.

  Americana’s arrangements may carry Crazy Horse’s trademark looseness, but Young has meticulously researched each selection’s lineage, delving back centuries in some cases. His use of the childlike Americana Choir on some tracks evokes the generations of children raised on these songs — whether they knew these lyrics or not. Instead of the Kingston Trio-popularized “Tom Dooley,” for instance, he chooses the murder ballad’s original spelling and lyrics, with a new melody and arrangement harking back to his Squires days. “This Land” (featuring Young’s wife, Pegi, and Stephen Stills) takes its lyrics from Woody Guthrie’s original manuscript. But Young also throws in twists such as covering the ’50s hit “Get A Job” (shades of Sha Na Na!), infusing “Jesus’ Chariot (She’ll Be Comin’ ‘Round the Mountain)” with a forest-fire squall of guitar riffs and giving “Susannah’s” banjo “b-i-n-g-o”-like treatment. His nods to Guthrie, folk-rock pioneer Tim Rose and even Stills’ pre-Young days (via “High Flyin’ Bird”) reinforce the continuity between past and present that make this album’s concept so intriguing — and its messages just as vital today. — LYNNE MARGOLIS

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BILLY JOE SHAVER
Live at Billy Bob’s Texas
Smith Music Group

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Billy Joe Shaver turns 68 this year, but you’d never know it from the energy he puts into his shows or from the timeless rugged quality of his singing voice. He may sound a bit gruffer, but his half spoken/half sung style has always been as rough as the broken-down lives he sings about, and that high little Hank Williams yelp he slips into the end of a line is still in good shape. So even if you don’t know Shaver, the 22 career-spanning tracks on his latest live album (which comes packaged with a DVD of the same show) will provide a good introduction. Live at Billy Bob’s Texas features solid performances of most of his best-known songs (“Georgia on a Fast Train,” “Black Rose,” “Old Chunk of Coal,” etc.), and for long time fans, two new tunes, to boot. “Wacko from Waco,” a co-write with his pal Willie Nelson that rides a slow-stomping, Waylon Jennings-like beat, is a fictionalized account — delivered with Shaver’s characteristic blend of hyperbole and poetry — of the 2007 barroom encounter that ended with Shaver putting a bullet through the cheek of Billy B. Coker in a parking lot showdown. The other new song, “The Git Go,” is a slow, Biblical ballad that compacts the story of human frailty and salvation from Adam and Eve to today’s wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Shaver’s longtime touring band adds a bit of rock muscle to the older tunes, which still sound as full of truth and life as they did when they were written, in some cases, nearly four decades ago. — J. POET

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THE TRISHAS
High, Wide & Handsome
TheTrishas.com

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The Trishas’ deeply soulful sounds have sent many chasing the buzz around Texas the past couple years. And for good reason: The foursome’s seamless harmonies, as glowing (“Liars & Fools,” “Cheater’s Game”) and graceful (“Strangers,” “Why”) as a Palo Duro sunset, set them on an absolutely singular path. High, Wide & Handsome doubles down with great news: These four are all excellent songwriters, too. Two years ago, their EP They Call Us the Trishas hinted as much, but here’s real proof. Fourteen sharply crafted narratives on their first proper studio album ebb (“Looking at Me,” “Cold Blooded Love”) and flow (“Little Sweet Cigars,” “Rainin’ Inside”) with infinite motion. Wisdom emerges on high watermarks “Mother of Invention” and “Over Forgiving You”; “I hope you’re well on your way, darling/I wish you all my love,” the latter goes. “The hardest part of getting older comes down to what you rise above.” The album proper is superb on its own, but by all means, immediately seek out the download-only bonus track “A Far Cry From You” (a Jim Lauderdale co-write with Raul Malo splitting vocals). Man oh man, the consecutive minor chords could break a heart before the first verse, and time just stops when those voices kick in.  – BRIAN T. ATKINSON

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BEAVER NELSON
Macro/Micro
Freedom Records

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Beaver Nelson has made six records over the last 15 years. They have all been good, solid collections of guitar-driven songs that showcase Nelson’s solid melodic sense and deft lyric writing. But if you heard any three of them in a row, you might not know which was which. You’ll have no such trouble with his seventh release, though, because Macro/Micro is a concept album in the truest sense of the word. It’s a big, sprawling mess and all the better for it. If you ask me, it is a solid early contender for album of the year.

Guitarist “Scrappy” Jud Newcomb has described the album as the Who’s “Quadraphenia written by Townes Van Zandt,” and that’s pretty danged accurate. Macro/Micro is clearly “about” something, but I haven’t the slightest idea what it is and quite frankly it doesn’t matter to me — just like it didn’t matter to me what Quadrophenia, Jethro Tull’s Thick as a Brick, or Radiohead’s OK Computer were “about.” What makes all those concept records great is the vibe, the repeated themes, the whole massive reach of the thing, and so it is with Macro/Micro. Composing the songs mostly around his quirky piano playing and linking various sections with instrumentals, Nelson takes us on a journey (most likely through his psyche) with highs and lows, moments of great beauty and abject pain. Sometimes it rips your heart out and sometimes it flat out rocks.

It’s the reach and ambition of the project, combined with Nelson’s songwriting gifts and the stellar playing from Newcomb and all the others, that makes Macro/Micro such a success. At a time when his contemporaries search for a way to squeeze pennies out of the Internet one song at a time, Nelson has delivered a sprawling masterpiece that demands to be taken as a whole, a true contract between artist and listener. Do yourself a favor and jump on for the ride. — GREG ELLIS

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SHAWN COLVIN
All Fall Down
Nonesuch

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Released in tandem with her new memoir, Diamond in the Rough, Shawn Colvin’s All Fall Down is the Austin-based singer-songwriter’s first studio album since 2006’s These Four Walls. Although she’s stayed on the industry radar (her 2009 release Shawn Colvin Live was nominated for a Best Contemporary Folk Grammy), the mainstream success that the South Dakota-native tasted with 1996’s platinum-selling A Few Small Repairs has tapered off considerably over the ensuing 20 years. But as the songs on All Fall Down prove, her topical sensibilities and masterful lyrical abilities (equal parts eloquent and intelligent) are still very much in tact. Produced by Americana darling Buddy Miller and recorded at his home studio in Nashville, the album is a rootsy hodgepodge of traditional strains, featuring dynamic, polished arrangements that range from Telecaster-driven country to melodic acoustic picking accompanied by Stuart Duncan’s soaring fiddle and even the occasional, atmospherically appropriate appearance of forlorn horns. Friends Emmylou Harris, Jakob Dylan, and Allison Krauss are also called in for vocal support. A melancholy mood pervades throughout the mellow, often poetic set, with recurring themes of homelessness, despair, and dissolution dominating Colvin’s thoughts, most notably on the standout track, “American Jerusalem,” a socially conscious tale of warning reminiscent of Steve Earle (or even Pete Seeger). But songs like the title track and “I Don’t Know You” offer just the right amount of pop sparkle (melodically if not quite lyrically) to help Colvin’s contemporary folk maintain crossover appeal. — COURTNEY SUDBRINK

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RUBY JANE
Celebrity (Empire of Emptiness)
Vinyl Records

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With Celebrity (empire of loneliness), 17-year-old fiddle prodigy and emerging singer-songwriter Ruby Jane Smith makes a valiant leap out of the safe confines of country music, diving into an alternative melodic and lyrical adventure with a fearless confidence that she wears like a crown. Co-producer Bradley Hartman (Willie Nelson, Emmylou Harris) helps Smith push her creativity to the limit and beyond, resulting in an album that will startle even – or perhaps especially – some of the Mississippi-reared, Austin-based young artist’s biggest fans and earliest supporters. The lovely opener, “The Innocents,” introduces Smith’s alluring vocals and ear for inventive melody while also serving notice straight-away that this most definitely won’t be another Ray Benson-driven ride with Bob Wills. The following track, the hauntingly dreamlike “XXVll,” is marked by an instrumental intricacy reminiscent of the symphonic rock of the ’60s and ’70s. Most of the album explores similarly arty landscapes, suggesting the soundtrack to a quirky but smartly directed independent film (particularly the bold cover of Wilco’s “I Am Trying to Break Your Heart.”) But it’s never inaccessible, with songs like “City of Angels” and “This Song” veering into catchy folk-pop. And Smith’s instrumental prowess is on full display, with her fiddle flawlessly orchestrated throughout the entire album. She plays it with both flourish and seasoned restraint, deftly sweeping in and around the arching melodies and also sometimes just blowing it all out into space, as she does on the title track. Her band (featuring guitarist Trevor La Blanc) is in fine form, too, providing layers of intricate texture to every song and flexing their impressive jam-band muscles when let loose on the aptly titled instrumental bonus track, “Intrepid.” But even then it’s the fiddle that stands out most of all, proving that this is still the Ruby Jane Show, and she’s never sounded more in control. — TRACIE FERGUSON

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CORBY SCHAUB
Handmade
Arriba

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Corby Schaub will be no doubt be familiar to many Texas music and Americana fans from his years as guitar slinger in Ryan Bingham’s terrific band the Dead Horses. His decision to leave the band a year ago might have puzzled some at the time, but as proven with his solo debut, Handmade, he’s more than capable of standing on his own. This is an intensely personal record. At first the naked honesty of Schaub’s lyrics seem a bit awkward and at odds with his virtuosic playing, but after a few listens the uniqueness of this approach wins you over. It reminds me quite a bit of Sonny Landreth, another amazing guitar player who also writes great songs, but there is none of the Cajun influence that is so prominent in Landreth’s work. Instead, Schaub showcases a distinctly Texan approach. There’s a little bit of Steve Earle in his vocals and his lyrics don’t fuck around: Schaub tells you exactly what’s on his mind, and evidently it’s been a rough couple of years. Amazingly though, this record doesn’t come off as dark or depressing — and you can credit that to Schaub’s soaring and lyrical guitar playing. But perhaps the most impressive thing about Handmade is Schaub’s refusal to play himself off as a “guitar hero,” even though his playing is clearly up to that approach. Instead, all of the wonderful playing here is in service to the songs. This is one of the rare albums by a guitar-slinging Texan that doesn’t nod once to the influence of Stevie Ray Vaughan, and that’s undeniably refreshing. — GREG ELLIS

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MILKDRIVE
Waves
MilkDrive.com

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Austin’s MilkDrive bills itself as a jazz-grass band, and they live up to the label on this, their second album. The difference between MilkDrive and your average bluegrass group is especially evident on the record’s instrumentals. “Benny’s Bus” opens with a simple repeated riff that unfolds in several unexpected directions leading to a complex guitar solo full of shifting time signatures, a decidedly non-bluegrass banjo excursion and a hint of gypsy jazz as well. “Gargamel’s Cat” is more traditional, but the solos are taken at a relaxed tempo that emphasizes melodic exploration over blistering chops. The band’s original songs also stretch the parameters. They invoke the classic sounds of the ’40s on “The City,” a mellow ballad that implies a meeting in a deserted late-night barroom. Surrealistic overlapping vocals give “Run & Hide” a strange, psychedelic aura as instrumental and vocal parts drift in and out of focus. Bruce Robison’s “Leavin’” and Drew Smith’s “Papers on the Table” are played in a more straightforward manner,
but it’s the band’s outside arrangements that really grab your attention. — J. POET

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THE MAVERICKS
Suited Up and Ready
Big Machine

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The Mavericks always offered a lusher kind of country, closer to the satiny sophistication of Patsy Cline or Ray Price than the roots twang their legend might suggest. And on Suited Up and Ready, the download-only teaser EP for their forthcoming, full-length reunion album, the Mavs sweep the rafters with complex rhythms, a certain brio that is as elegant as it is musk-scented, and the butterscotch and brandy voice of Raul Malo, a wildly emotion-conducting instrument which has never been better. Drama is a big part of what makes these songs stand out. Whether it’s Eddie Perez’ spaghetti Western guitar sowing a murky foreboding on the flamenco-driven “Come Unto Me,” punctuated by low horn bursts and a chorus of mariachi-sounding male vocalists, or the Wurltizer-soaked strolling confection “Amsterdam Dam Moon,” a love song to the same moon Van Gogh obsessed over, it’s obvious: where the Mavericks go, romance and intrigue follows. Ramping up the ’50s even further — and taking Malo’s Roy Orbison-esque tone to even more supple places — “That’s Not My Name” celebrates the glorious ache of being in love with the one who got away. “Back In Your Arms Again,” meanwhile, finds rapture and release in the arms of the girl you just can’t quit. — HOLLY GLEASON

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AMY COOK
Summer Skin
Root House/Thirty Tigers

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Amy Cook has been building an underground buzz with her poignant vocals and distinctive songwriting for almost a decade now, and her downbeat world view and affecting melodies are in evidence again on Summer Skin. Producer Craig Street (Norah Jones’ Come Away With Me) and a stellar backing band, including guitarist David Garza and Me’Shell N’Degeocello on bass, add to the music’s low-key charm, leaving the spotlight on Cook’s husky, soulful voice. Songs of wounded love, missed connections and ordinary tragedy abound. “Hello Bunny” warns little critters that it’s a cruel world; “Sun Setting Backwards” is a letter to a to a no-good lover who delights in breaking hearts; and the shadowy western twang of “It’s Gonna Rain” sets off a slow moody country song featuring familiar harmonies from special guest Robert Plant. The mostly mid-tempo arrangements tend to induce a trance-like state after a while, but those who like to dwell on life’s more difficult moments will find comfort in Cook’s melancholy musings. — J. POET

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MARVIN ETZIONI
Marvin Country!
MarvinCountry.com

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Long before Lone Justice was a rumble down the wire of the biggest thing to hit country, rock or cow-punk, Marvin Etzioni was a multi-instrumental songwriter of some prowess, agile on the strings and penetrating when taking on the human condition. He brought the gospel “You Are the Light” and ferociously carnal “Working Late” to Lone Justice, songs that fed the media maelstrom. Thirty years later, Etzioni’s dagger is no less sharp. Drawing on icons of Southern California’s cow-punk scene, Marvin Country! is a two-disc set of fastidiously sculpted tracks that bolt and weep and jolt with an aggression lacking in much Americana. Whether it’s the jacked-up folk-country of “Living Like a Hobo” with Buddy Miller, the full-throttle thromp of “Grapes of Wrath” with X founder John Doe, or the alt-folk stomp of “No Work in Mississippi” with Steve Earle, this is muscular stuff. Ironic and sobering on “Bob Dylan is Dead,” Etzioni’s intellect peels back the layers of hurt, anger and confusion in his and Lucinda Williams’ exhumation of a failed marriage, “Lay It On the Table.” He weaves a noir Emmylou Harris/Gram Parsons spell with Justice’s Maria McKee on the velvety narcotic “You Possess Me,” then  reduxes “You Are the Light” with the Dixie Hummingbirds. Fans of acoustic instruments and analog gear will appreciate the sonic differences from track to track; but ultimately, it’s the songs and the stories, players and performances that make Marvin Country! compelling. — HOLLY GLEASON

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OLD CROW MEDICINE SHOW
Carry Me Back
ATO

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Old Crow Medicine Show have carved out their own little niche in Americana by ignoring trends and playing anything that strikes their fancy, be it folk, blues, old-time, bluegrass, ragtime, or traditional country. They can sound like a pre-bluegrass string band on “Steppin’ Out,” then turn around and sing a teary ballad like “Genevieve,” a tune that sounds like a modern country radio hit, albeit played on acoustic instruments. The rest of the program on Carry Me Back is just as surprising. “We Don’t Grow Tobacco” has a ragged sound that suggests Cab Calloway fronting the Memphis Jug Band. The folky “Bootlegger’s Boy” is a rave up that sounds like it’s a 100 years old, although it’s played with a galloping energy that’s as much punk as old time. The band shows off its bluegrass chops on “Sewanee Mountain Catfight,” a barn-burner played with a fierce energy highlighted by Chance McCoy’s smoking fiddle. Not too shabby for a band originally based in New York City. — J. POET

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ROBIN TERRAZAS
Let’s Take Two
Platinum Blues Music Company

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“Don’t tell me how success will be/Don’t tell me the price I must pay,” implores San Antonio’s Robin Terrazas at the outset of “Success,” the opening track on her debut album. “Please tell me how great success will be, and how much that it will pay.” Her delivery is pure earnest, but she’s bound to have her tongue a little in cheek there: Let’s Take Two is not the work of a naïve young woman with stars in her eyes. According to her bio, the Houston-born, Mississippi-raised Terrazas grew up singing in church choirs and such and recorded back-up vocals for the likes of Dr. John and Marva Wright, but put her music ambitions on hold long enough for her three children to grow up. So although she may be getting a rather late start on her own recording career, the 11 tracks on Let’s Take Two (all self-produced originals) showcase a mature artist unencumbered by trends and awkward grasps at crossover appeal: her specialty is straight-up jazzy blues, served with the sophisticated, big-city smoothness of Robert Cray and wrapped in smoky, sultry soul. Norah Jones-level overnight fame (and “pay”) probably isn’t in the cards for this one, but if Terrazas quantifies “success” as merely making a confident artistic statement she can be proud of, she’s got it in the bag. — RICHARD SKANSE