Although its space rock on Introducing… was interstellar and its garage rock on King Richard’s Collectibles was a royal blast, Asteroid No. 4 doesn’t seem to be content to stick with one style for too long. Listening to Gram Parsons, the Byrds, and Bob Dylan and a trip to the Western states influenced their shift to folk and country, something the Philadelphia band began with a demo in 1999. Honeyspot, for which Rainbow Quartz started a subsidiary label, still has a few ounces of psychedelia. But with banjos, pedal steel, and harmonica along for the trip, this is proud Americana that tips its cowboy hat to the 1960s and ’70s. The breezy “Runnin’ Away” is a jubilant ode to traveling home (“I’m hopping the next train back to Philly”), “One Time” is nearly a country ballad, and “Like Dogs” is one of a few ditties that dip into honky tonk. The band’s name no longer seems to fit, but Honeyspot will hit the spot if you’re riding in the back of a pickup truck down South. – Kenyon Hopkin
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