Lucinda Williams, “Little Honey” (Lost Highway)
This critical darling and standard-bearer roots rocker marks a decade since the release of her career focal point, “Car Wheels on a Gravel Road,” with this solid but less-than-essential album. Duets (Elvis Costello) and a novel cover (“It’s a Long Way to the Top”) give it an overly loose temperament.
Keane, “Perfect Symmetry” (Island)
Mushy, piano-driven U.K. soft-rockers Keane switch gears on their third album by plowing the fertile ground of ’80s throwback pop. They should get points for trying, but calling the results “uneven” would be charitable.
Ray LaMontagne, “Gossip in the Grain” (RCA)
The bright-eyed production and deft arrangements on LaMontagne’s third album reinforce his burgeoning reputation as an exciting new voice in the classic singer-songwriter mold.
John Wenzel
