There's a reason why pretty much everything to come from the house of David Rawlings and Gillian Welch immediately goes to the top of every Americana list on planet Earth. They are a pair of formidable talents -- artists who precisely evoke the essence of traditional country music yet never sound like Americana mockingbirds.For this record…

Death, taxes, and good songs from Joe Ely: Those are the three things you can count on in life and, with the release of this new set of a dozen tunes, the latter becomes more and more apparent. The central theme here is movement ... of time, of people, of the restless heart. The songs are filled…

If you like a snappy turn of a phrase, a slightly snarky point of view, and a good old-fashioned American rock 'n' roll groove, chances are you already have some Webb Wilder in your musical arsenal. If not, this record is a good one to get you started.Skip the faux field holler of “Stones in My…

Of his last album, 2012’s Gloryland, singer/songwriter Kevin Gordon said he likes “the unfinished ending -- the story that just continues when the song’s over.” With his newest piece, a 12-song set called Long Gone Time, Gordon continues to construct his characters with an air of mystery, leaving the listener to imagine how, exactly, one came…

Belying their party band biography and dipping their toes into some heavy jazz vibes, the Honeydrops open A River’s Invitation with a cut that sounds more like Miles’ man On the Corner than a romp down the Rue Dauphine. The groove is Muscle Shoals deep, singer Lech Wierzynski’s voice is Sam Cooke wide, and saxophonist…