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Pale Blue Eyes &bull; <i>New Place</i>

Pale Blue Eyes • New Place

The guitar and bass strings are vibrating cosmically, the drums eat up the miles, an ethereal chorus swirls about. It's not a new formula, but it's done very well, and if you need to drive for sixty miles without noticing the time go by, here you go.

Pokey Lafarge &bull; <i>In the Blossom of their Shade</i>

Pokey Lafarge • In the Blossom of their Shade

If the name didn’t give it away, this is suitable for slow-dancing cowboys, at least as they exist in our imagination. The crooning voice floats lithely over western swing and doo-wop influences to make you either start or stop howling at the moon.

Los Lobos &bull; <i>Native Sons</i>

Los Lobos • Native Sons

The cover album is trite and cliché by now, but when the kings of Los Angeles release a tribute to the music scene that made them who they are, it’s definitely worth a listen, as both a rock show and a history lesson on what made LA sound that way.

Death Valley Girls &bull; <i>Street Venom</i>

Death Valley Girls • Street Venom

The reissue of the band’s 2014 cassette debut shows a clear trajectory for this garage-delic outfit that constantly wanders through the dirtiest of musical territories and comes out the other end looking perfectly disheveled.