*** The Jayhawks

SOUND OF LIES

(American)

Bassist Marc Perlman sums up the Jayhawks' situation as of last year in "Trouble": "Hung out to dry/Our backs against the wall/Stoned out of our minds." In the wake of 1995's Tomorrow the Green Grass (American), a big-budget disc that took the Jayhawks' Gram Parsons fixation about as far as it could go musically and then failed to go anywhere commercially, guitarist/ songwriter Mark Olson threw in the towel, leaving the band leaderless, or at least rudderless. The Jayhawks have persevered with guitarist/songwriter Gary Louris at the helm, and they've come through with one of their best albums.

Louris steers the band away from the Sweetheart of the Rodeo-style harmonies of Green Grass and onto rockier, more textured instrumental terrain. The road the Jayhawks travel is still dotted with retro signposts, but specific influences are harder to spot. The psychedelic-tinged road-weariness of the epic "The Man Who Loved Life" brings to mind Wings, the suicide tale "Think About It" chugs with Mick Ronson guitars, and the peaceful, easy groove of "It's Up to You" recalls the jaded pop of the Eagles. The crisis of the past year has also given Louris something relevant to sing about. The disc is littered with references like "My whole life has gone haywire" ("Haywire") and "A has-been at a mere 35" ("Big Star").

-- Matt Ashare