Gilmore Jimmie Dale - Come On Back ($13.99) [Jimmie Dale Gilmores first album since his critically lauded One Endless Night (2000) is a collection of songs introduced to Jimmie by his father as he was growing up in Lubbock, Texas. Most of the songs were written and/or made popular by classic country artists such as Johnny Cash, Ernest Tubb, Hank Snow, and Ray Price. Jimmie makes each song his own with the same soulful, timeless delivery which has made him an American treasure since his early days with The Flatlanders. ]

Kottke Leo & Mike Gordon - Sixty Six Steps ($13.99) [Sixty Six Steps--the second collaboration between guitarist Leo Kottke and erstwhile Phish bassist Mike Gordon--is both an homage to and an experiment loosely involving island rhythms. 'There are these syncopations within Leo's guitar playing that twist around in a way that remind me of calypso,' explains Gordon. 'So this album took form as an experiment in my mind to see whether Leo's unique style of playing could be mixed with this kind of music I discovered and really loved when I was younger. And it worked far beyond my expectations.' 'Mike was the first to notice that aspect in my playing, and I think I'd forgotten it was in there,' says Kottke. 'No one else had done that. He's very intuitive that way.']

McClinton Delbert - Cost of living ($12.99) [Like a rootsier Jimmy Buffett, Delbert McClinton is an established, hard-touring veteran whose audience doesn't expect from him too much out of the norm. Regardless, the Texan's quintessential mix of country, R&B, Tex-Mex, blues, honky-tonk, New Orleans bump, lounge jazz, and good-time rock and roll is durable enough to sustain a career, especially since nobody does it nearly as well as he does. In the spirit of 'don't fix what isn't broken,' this album of 13 McClinton originals preserves the established formula. But to his credit, the leathery-voiced singer, now in his mid-60s, never seems to be going through the motions.]

Nickel Creek - Why should the fire die ($12.99) [Why Should the Fire Die? is Nickel Creek's first album without Alison Krauss in the producer's chair, and on it, the trio's genre-expanding acoustic music has shifted even farther away from its bluegrass origins. The opening 'When in Rome' perfectly encapsulates the aggressive approach the band favors, and features poetic lyrics far more obtuse than those of most groups with similar roots. The disc's first half stays rooted in a fairly conventional folk mode, with a lovely cover of Bob Dylan's 'Tomorrow Is a Long Time' (one of the few solo vocal turns from fiddler Sara Watkins) and 'Jealous of the Moon' (cowritten with the Jayhawks' Gary Louris) obvious highlights.]

Thompson Richard - Front parlour ballads ($13.99) [Front Parlour Ballads is almost entirely acoustic, with all instruments but percussion played by Richard Thompson himself. Despite the basic approach, however, this is not a sparse album. His guitar playing is as complex as ever, and the songs stand comparison with any of his best. The opening track, 'Let It Blow,' is a funny account of a relationship conducted in the grubby glare of the tabloids, and 'For Whose Sake?' and 'Miss Patsy' are sterling illustrations of Thompson's ability to frame modern sentiments and stories within time-served folk idioms. 'Boys of Mutton Street' starts with a riff which is surely intentionally an echo of Thompson's previously best-known acoustic song, '1952 Vincent Black Lightning,' and 'Solitary Life' sounds like it might be Thompson's take on Radiohead's 'Fitter Happier.' ]

Yob - Unreal never lived ($7.99) [Hailing from the ever-gray skies of Eugene, Oregon comes YOB, a band already well on their way to make their mark in the DOOM metal scene worldwide. Formed in 1996 by founding member Mike Scheidt YOB started creating and destroying ideas that would become the foundation for one of DOOM metals most shining hopefuls. YOB is prepared to release their sophomore effort on Metal Blade Records titled The Unreal Never Lived, which follows up their tremendously successful Metal Blade debut The Illusion Of Motion. If the bands previous effort didnt catch your attention then watch out because The Unreal Never Lived is sure to make a lasting impression on fans both new and old with their brand of heavy and unrelenting Doom metal that has secured the band a place in the history of heavy metal. ]