'Beyond the Break' (Honey Bucket)

These melodious Long Beach roots rockers spice their smarter-than-average working-guy laments with judicious country flourishes. There's passion, sweet roughhouse harmonies, guitar jangling and humor aplenty, with a becoming lack of the pretension that some music in this subgenre assumes. You can dance, drink or think all you want to it - or all three, if you're coordinated enough.
-- BOB STRAUSS