Artist: DRAG THE RIVER
Album: YOU CAN'T LIVE THIS WAY
Label: SUBURBAN HOME
Release Date: 22 JAN 2008
Website: www.dragtheriver.com
Myspace: www.myspace.com/dragtheriver

Alt.country veterans Drag the River announced their disbandment, released You Can't Live This Way, and promptly launched a mini-tour in support of the album. In that order. (No, we can't figure it out either.) We hope it was either a publicity stunt or a change-of-heart, because if there is any truth to the band's untimely demise, we're going to haul ass to Fort Collins, CO and smack somebody in the chops.

In short, You Can't Live This Way is one of the better albums we've heard this year, and a worthy follow-up to the band's stellar 2006 offering It's Crazy. Snag yourself a copy. (And pay attention to track #15, "You Can't Live This Way." Drag the River has a tradition of tacking a "bonus track" onto their albums, which is usually just a repeat of the entire album as a single track. Call it the jukebox bonus. They've done it again this time, but with a twist, serving up alternate versions and remixes on the final track rather than just repeating the first fourteen.)

Artist: DRIVE-BY TRUCKERS
Album: BRIGHTER THAN CREATION'S DARK
Label: NEW WEST
Release Date: 22 JAN 2008
Website: www.drivebytruckers.com
Myspace: www.myspace.com/drivebytruckers

This one's been blogged to death, so we won't bother. Yep, it's a bit long, a touch uneven, and missing Mr. Isbell, but we still dig it. It rode the CD carousel for two solid months, and that's no mean feat in these parts. If you haven't heard it yet, give it a listen.

Artist: THE WHIPSAWS
Album: 60 WATT AVENUE
Label: SHUT EYE
Release Date: 29 JAN 2008
Website: www.thewhipsaws.com
Myspace: www.myspace.com/thewhipsaws

Quick--name another band from Alaska. (Yeah, we couldn't either. We must be overlooking someone obvious.) Led by Evan Phillips (who is rumored to have another album coming out later this summer with his talented buddies Tim Easton and Leeroy Stagger), the Whipsaws bring the roots rock. 60 Watt Avenue is the second release from the Ancorage-based foursome, and if disc's rough exuberance is any indication of what the band's like live, you'd better hope they're coming to a town near you soon.

Highlights include the infectious "Bar Scar," the pedal-steel driven "Lonesome Joe," and "The War," which, despite a couple of questionable turns-of-phrase, would be a hit if radio still mattered. Also of note is a ragged version of Neil Young's "Mr. Soul," and Tim Easton sitting in on the album's closer "Seven Long Years."

Portland, Maine must be stuck in a time warp. Some kid named Roy Davis just scratched together a band and released a killer, mid-1990s alt.country album. In 2008.

We can dig it.

Our favorite tracks include "Just One Day," "Don't Follow Me," and "Hardly Holdin' On," but the disc hardly has a weak spot. Toss the boys a few bucks and pick this one up.

Artist: JAMES McMURTRY
Album: JUST US KIDS
Label: LIGHTNING ROD RECORDS
Release Date: 15 APR 2008
Website: www.jamesmcmurtry.com
Myspace: www.myspace.com/jamesmcmurtry

Longtime McMurtry fans will find a bit of recycled material on his latest disc. Sure, the songs are all new, but they're cut from the same cloth as much of his previous work. (No, we're not complaining. And yes, we're familiar with all the appropriate clichés.)

McMurtry is at his best, however, when spinning slant tales, and on several occasion here he trades his subtle eye for a soap box. But no worries, we're in the choir. (Hey, if he can preach, we can mix our metaphors.)

If you're unfamiliar with Mr. McMurtry's work, Just Us Kids is fine place to start. And if you only have 99¢ to burn, head over to iTunes and download "Ruby and Carlos." The man can write a motherf*ckin' song.