The newest album from DC's prolific country-rockers These United States has the grace of a measured classic, yet never loses the band's fun-loving, freewheeling spirit. Read our full review after the jump!

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The second album from husband-wife duo The Weepies is filled with tumbling, infectious melodies and surprisingly profound lyrical depth. But the real beauty of Hideaway is that these two are capable of instilling a deep literary quality into songs that Disney is happy to use.

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In the gothic country genre, Cortney Tidwell pretty much stands alone. There's plenty of Patsy Cline in her voice to complement the Depeche Mode in her arrangements, and fans of Mazzy Star will likely find lots to enjoy here.

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The ballads seem subtley bright, the rockers are surreptitiously dusty, all portrayed with an even keel and balanced abstractness that is never expected from a freshman effort, but, more to the point (and I very rarely say this) there's not a bad song on the album.

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EDITOR'S NOTE: This post is syndicated from Joe Koch's blog, Of Figs and Mint.

was just released on Tuesday and I can already tell that it will be one of my favorites of the year. Imagine Hem teaming up with The National and letting Jón Þór Birgisson [of Sigur Rós] lead the artistic direction. The result is ambient and minimal without losing a distinctive, personal Southern flavor. I haven't listened to anything else for the last 24 hours and I continually hear new things in the intricately subtle layers that line the album's faint corners.

After the break: Jefferson Airplane, Blitzen Trapper, The National, and North Mississippi Allstars!

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