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Cribbed shamelessly from PopMatters:


MAY 8

Ike Reilly Assassination—We Belong to the Staggering Evening: Verbose, but nonetheless rocking, Reilly’s music offers a Dylanesque mix of spunk and doggerel.

FEM: Hmmmmspunkanddoggerelhmmmmm. Never heard of him/her/them but it's "Dylanesque" so they say.

May 15

The Avett Brothers—Emotionalism: A higher-profile work from the sweet-voiced, harmonizing, folk-rock brethren.

Maria Muldaur—Naughty, Bawdy & Blue: The roots singer’s third salute to the blues women of the `20s, `30s and `40s. Think Bessie Smith, Sippie Wallace and the like.

Rufus Wainwright—Release the Stars: A more accessible, if no less ornate, work from the fanciful artiste.

Wilco—Sky Blue Sky: The prettiest album in eons from these arty country rockers.

MAY 29

Richard Thompson—Sweet Warrior: Yet more songs from the quick-witted, and oft-recorded, folk-rock mainstay.

JUNE 5

Bruce Springsteen and the Seeger Sessions Band—Live in Dublin: Ireland’s literary capital seems the perfect place to stage these songs of historic heft.

Various Artists—Anchored in Love: A Tribute to June Carter Cash: A salute to the country icon featuring artists including step-daughter Rosanne Cash, Elvis Costello, Sheryl Crow, Willie Nelson and Loretta Lynn.

Various Artists—We All Love Ella: A toast to jazz legend Fitzgerald. With contributions from Gladys Knight, Chaka Khan, Queen Latifah, Etta James, k.d lang, Linda Ronstadt, Diana Krall and more.

JUNE 12

John Doe—A Year in the Wilderness: The ex-leader of X with a solo work that features a gaggle of great female guests, from Aimee Mann to Jill Sobule to Kathleen Edwards.

JUNE 19

Bryan Ferry—Dylanesque: A collection of Dylan covers (!) from the king of sorrowful suave.
WEIRD: Hasn't this been out for ... six weeks or so? I bought it in Newtown ages ago.

The White Stripes—Icky Thump: Garage rock at its wildest—and most emotionally rich.

JUNE 26

Ryan Adams—Easy Tiger: Alt-country’s most prolific star continues to bulk up the discography with this.

Steve Forbert—Strange Names & New Sensations: New music from one of our most underrated singer-songwriters.

Nick Lowe—At My Age: The British icon follows 2001’s finest album (The Convincer) with nine original songs, plus some covers from country’s greatest scribes.

Kelly Willis—Translated From Love: One of alt-country’s most underappreciated singers, has an album produced by a canny songwriter in his own right: Chuck Prophet.

JULY 10

Kim Richey—Chinese Boxes: The first album in five years by one of the smartest alt-country songwriters around.

JULY 17

Raul Malo—After Hours: The singer from the Mavericks covers country staples.

AUG. 14

Linda Thompson—Versatile Heart: It took the ex-wife of Richard Thompson over 20 years to put out her first solo album, the wonderful Fashionably Late. Thank the Lord she only took about two years to put out this followup. Featuring guest appearances from the younger generation of folk-rockers, like Eliza Carthy, Rufus Wainwright and her equally talented son, Teddy.

AUG. 21

The New Pornographers—Challengers: The latest from the great Canadian supergroup, featuring the power-lunged Neko Case on three tracks sure to please.