Old 97's Blame It On Gravity CD

Coming nearly four years after 2004's rough-edged DRAG IT UP, BLAME IT ON GRAVITY is slightly smoother-sounding, but still nowhere near slick. Rhett Miller and company, as always, are blending country twang and a rock-&-roll heart on their seventh album, but overall these 13 tracks lean a bit more towards the latter. The straightforward pop of "Rise" sits comfortably alongside the Latin-tinged shuffles of "She Loves the Sunset" and "Dance With Me," and the rollicking gallop of "Early Morning" is a nice balance to the winsome jangle pop of "This Beautiful Thing." Other highlights include the lengthy pure -country ballad "The Color of a Lonely Heart Is Blue" and the sparkling pop of the anthemic "My Two Feet."

Rewind the clock to the early 1990s, when the Old 97's were not old in the least and their charismatic, pinup-worthy frontman -- a struggling musician sharing an apartment with ...