Son Volt – American Central Dust

Son Volt singer-songwriter Jay Farrar casts his gaze around the good old U.S. of A. and isn’t happy with what he sees. The economy has tanked, greed runs rampant and dreams come crashing to the ground. Even if all that’s true, does it really help to sound this mopey?

Farrar’s dour perspective courses through most of these dozen songs, the gloom broken only sporadically by the band’s musical interplay. Too often, his melodies are Spartan vehicles for his lyrical prose, which is ambitiously artful but would be served just as well — perhaps better — as spoken-word exercises. (read the full review)

Those Darlins – Those Darlins

Tennessee’s best kept little secret no longer remains hidden as Those Darlins have released their debut self titled album on their very own label Oh Wow Dang! Records.  Kelly Darlin, Nikki Darlin, and Jessie Darlin who make up Those Darlins do their own thing their own way. The result is a band that spills out some great tunes combining pop with rock, punk, and country.

Hailing from Murfreesboro, TN the musically inclined trio of women have already made their way around the US playing shows small and large.  With their constant touring with acts such as Dan Auerbach, The Features, and even playing a stage at this year’s Bonnaroo, they finally have released their debut album for all to hear. (read the full review)

Oneida – Rated O

Rated O is the second installment in Oneida’s long-promised Thank Your Parents, a trilogy in three unequal parts. The first chapter, Preteen Weaponry, comprised a single song that was really an unswerving freeway jams. A year ago, this correspondent found it underwhelming, but it grows on you in the same way certain Can albums (Soon Over Babaluma, Flow Motion) do, with passages that initially seem bland or underdone revealing subtle riches if you just play ‘em often enough. So ask me a year from now and I may say something quite different about Rated O. But today, it looks like an indulgent, overstuffed and intermittently brilliant mess. (read the full review)

The Jayhawkes – Music From The North Country

Hopefully Music from The North Country, an ambitious new career retrospective on the Jayhawks will change that. Overseen by Gary Louris, this 2 CD/1 DVD set was obviously assembled with loving care. You’d also be surprised at how many of these songs you might recognize, even if you don’t necessarily know the Jayhawks by name.

Disc one plays like the proverbial greatest hits set by a band that never really had any. It opens with “Two Angels” and “Aint No End,” two tracks from Blue Earth, the Jayhawks lone 1989 album for indie label Twin Tone. “Aint No End” in particular still sounds like the opening shot by a band destined for future greatness. Olson and Louris trade off on some of the sweetest harmonies this side of the Flying Burrito Brothers as the guitars crackle with all the warmth of a bristling campfire. (read the full review)