Bobby Bare, Jr. has veered all over the road. The son of a '60s country hitmaker ("Detroit City") who plied red-state grunge with his band Bare Jr., then went sentimental and acoustic on his debut, he's found his middle ground, equal parts rustic and electric, on his third album with the Young Criminals Starvation League.

Several administrations ago, the Replacements released a shambling cover of Hank Williams '"Hey, Good Lookin'" as a B-side, helping to make country music safe for the indie rock nation. You can hear Paul Westerberg's country side all over The Longest Meow, most clearly on "Demon Valley," right down to the way Bare punctuates the song's hook with a silly little smack of his lips. Bare also comes off as a guy who digs the songcrafty side of indie-rock, like Daniel Johnston and Guided by Voices. The Pixies, too — Bare groans out an acoustic cover of "Where Is My Mind" so intimate it sounds like he made everyone else leave the building. Not to mention the new New South sound descended from Drivin 'N Cryin and the Georgia Satellites, bands who fused literate songwriting with fierce pick-up truck rock, the kind… read more »