Album: Ryan Adams & the Cardinals, Cardinology, (Lost Highway)

Ryan Adams, darling of the softcore end of Americana and irritable butt of many an "Everything I Do" heckle, knows what he's good at by now.

Namely, Nashville-meets-Bakersfield stylings, chiming guitars, two-part harmonies, and the occasional detour such as the Seventies soul-driven "Fix It" or the chunky rock riffola of "Magick". Like a sip of Maker's Mark, it's dark, rich, grainy, if factory-produced. One could say "all right if you like that sort of thing", were it not the case that Adams makes music for people who don't.

Pick of the Album: The Cardinals channel Jimmy Savile in 1970s Philly: “Fix It