*** Mike Ireland & Holler

LEARNING TO LIVE

(Sub Pop)

Sub Pop may be best known as the indie responsible for grunge, but with Mike Ireland & Holler's debut the Seattle label puts its feet down in rootsier terrain. Ireland and his Kansas City-based backing trio romp, stomp, croon, and, well, holler their way through country with a two-step twist. Theirs is a pop/honky-tonk hybrid accented by string-sweetened countrypolitan melodies. Viola, cello, and violin swell around the pained weeper "Worst of All" and underpin the drama of Ireland's aching tenor on the opening number, "House of Secrets." Pared down to a guitar/bass/drums foursome, the band still hold their own on the pessimistic but uptempo "Headed for a Fall," which is energized by twangy guitar riffs and swinging roadhouse rhythms.

-- Phillip Zonkel