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Steve Earle El Corazon (Warner) Steve Earle has returned from Copperhead Road as one of country's truly gifted writers. His lyrical delivery on this third effort is cast from his mouth like chewing tobacco, rich with characters who are covered in blood ("Taneytown") and soaked in jealousy ("NYC"). The country-punk sound works well when teaming up with the Supersuckers again in "NYC," but his bluegrass band the Fairfield Four ("Telephone Road") really give his words some room to stretch out. Far from corny. 8/10 (Johnson Cummins) Jars of Clay Much Afraid (Essential/ BMG) / Shelter Beyond Planet Earth (Road Runner/Attic) And from the ever growing throng of religious rockers comes... Krishna-core punkers Shelter! They've now lost their hardcore bent (scrap the mosh pits in the airports, then?) for paint-by-numbers power pop laced with, yes you guessed it--SKA! Next up we have Christian lads Jars of Clay. Now I got a good guffaw out of Christ-rockers Stryper, but Jars of Clay's tender ballads are beyond humour and contain an interest factor up there with televised golf. Here's a clue if you guys really want to rock: PRAISE HELL/SATAN! Jars 2/10 Shelter 2.5/10 (Johnson Cummins) The Sundays Static & Silence (DGC/Universal) Five years since their last album, The Sundays have quite literally matured. Vocalist Harriet Wheeler and guitarist David Gavurin took time off to start a family, and it almost seems as if having a karmic kid around caused the couple to let go of the youthful pop of their past. A lower-register Wheeler still sounds unique though--some strings and brass are properly adult--but it's all rather genteel. 6.5/10 (Chris Yurkiw)
Maybe you should get to know this local trio. That is, provided you appreciate this low-key country/Celtic conundrum. If dexterous manipulation of guitar, mandolin, violin and banjo, giving shape to tales of drunken heartbreak and drunker hope, constitutes your cup of Guinness, you might want to introduce yourself. Tastefully understated. 7/10 (Rupert Bottenberg)
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Nobody You Know self-titled (Snarling Pika)