Tailgates & Tanlines is, for the most part, exactly what the title implies: a soundtrack for fun and sun, along with an instantaneous cure for the summertime blues.

Murder By Death reach a new plateau in the development of their ongoing pursuit of rollicking gothic indie folk, simultaneously sounding born of an era long past yet grounded in a rock 'n' roll spirit that's nothing if not contemporary.

While some may complain about the ballad vibe that envelopes most of these ten tunes, there’s no doubt that The Secret Sisters, and their famed production and musical support team, have tapped into a well, secret sauce that makes this beautifully conceived, often introspective but never insular rootsy folk and pop so unique and immediately likeable.

There’s a lot to chew on, but Americana is an overstuffed, first class offering from one of the UK’s most feted songwriters and a worthy entry into Ray Davies’ rightfully esteemed catalog.

With an album as consistently strong as The Stand-In at this early stage, she has an impressive career ahead.

The good news is, it all works.

Even if this is a stopgap release to buy time for writing new material, it’s a cool, fun and even informative set that’s as entertaining as the rest of the band’s work.

A major leap forward for an artist whose previous work now seems like a warm-up for the dizzying heights The Navigator strives for, and often achieves.

Reportedly recorded in three days, and obviously without many overdubs in such a short span, What Makes Bob Holler is an excellent recording by three skilled musicians who can seemingly just tune up and play, something that's becoming increasingly rare these days

Touches of Celtic, jazz, country and folk, but seldom rock, inform these lovely tunes that take their time as if on a leisurely stroll.

Contradictory emotions push against each other in each line and verse, pulling the listener between envy and pity for the characters that inhabit each song, and often with envy/pity switching sides on each additional listen.

The sound on these remasters crackles, revealing musical and lyrical nuances along with spotlighting how critical Mark Ortmann’s in-the-pocket drumming is to the vibe.

This is clearly a labor of love for Boyd and a wonderful introduction to a tragically flawed but exceptionally talented singer/songwriter.

Griffin digs deep into introspective lyrics, some with historical references, to display her distinctive vocals and original songs with stripped down arrangements that use space and the silence between notes to create shimmering music you won’t soon forget.

Even though this is done and dusted in just over 30 minutes, the raw rocking and joyous attitude will stick with you long afterwards.

He zips past previous genre assumptions, ripping up any blueprint for how a blues album should sound on this daring and audacious release.

It may have taken her over 20 years, but today Sheryl Crow is retrieving and expanding upon those parts of her artistic sensibility that had always been there.

Producer Steve Jordan captures the thumping drums, horns and string arrangements always so essential to this music, creating Scaggs’ finest album since Come on Home, 1997’s previous set of predominantly soul covers.

Every pretty melody, every sweet-tart lyric, every vocal and instrumental flourish... they definitely earn her--to borrow a title-song reference--a 4.0.

Patti Smith builds upon her already impressive career for one of her finest, least commercial but most enticing and entrancing albums.

This is a mammoth and comprehensive overview of one of the major musicians of our time and as such, is essential listening for all enthusiasts of funk, soul and rock.

It’s impossible to not get caught up in the sheer joy exuded by Morrison and company as he cranks out yet another winner in a bulging catalog filled with them.

The good news is that this one is so powerful and varied that it will make those hard truths a little easier to bear even after the disc ends.

It’s an excellent live document, and though it’s devoid of otherwise familiar material, it brings attention to an unlikely artifact that deserves renewed attention. Consider this a most remarkable return.

Son Volt doesn’t try anything fancy on Notes In Blue, nor does it need to. It simply puts the spotlight on the frontman and lets him knock every one of these songs high into the stormy skies and right out of the park.

The contemplative sound of the album’s most beautiful ballads “Sure As the Rain,” “Ghost” and “Between Us There Is Music” are calming and captivating, even though the eerie ambiance and atmosphere may suggest otherwise.

Its title seems clichéd but there is nothing predictable about the exuberance or the obvious attention to detail McPherson applied to his rolling good times.

Stripped of the beefy, full-band arrangements of The Constantines, Webb loses none of his potency. He’s just found a way to channel it without cranking up the volume.