Rock the cabin with these new tunes, and you’ll feel the fever

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EDITOR’S NOTE: In Sound Advice, veteran BDN entertainment writer Dale McGarrigle, rock columnist Emily Burnham and a revolving stable of BDN writers review new albums from across the musical spectrum.

“10 Days Out: Blues From the Backroads” (Reprise) – Kenny Wayne Shepherd

Sometimes an album transcends just being new product.

On “10 Days Out,” guitar wunderkind Shepherd takes on the role of archivist. Along with producer Jerry Harrison (ex-Talking Heads), the Double Trouble rhythm section of drummer Chris Layton and bassist Tommy Shannon and vocalist Noah Hunt, Shepherd headed out for 10 days to record largely elderly blues musicians across the South, Southwest and Midwest.

On the CD are not just such well-known bluesmen as B.B. King, Clarence “Gatemouth” Brown and Honeyboy Edwards but also a number of lesser-known but talented ones as well.

The standout CD capturing 15 prime examples of the blues would be enough for any fan. The highlight is four songs featuring the remaining members of Howlin’ Wolf and Muddy Waters bands playing behind a series of guest vocalists. Shepherd keeps his guitar work to a minimum here, serving as a supporting player to the real stars, the veteran players.

What makes this collection exceptional is the accompanying DVD, directed by Noble Jones. The musicians talking about their connection to the blues and the interplay among them gives real emotional depth to this project.

Since “10 Days Out” was recorded, six of the featured musicians have passed away, including “Gatemouth” Brown. So in addition to being a top-notch blues collection, the album is a valuable historical record of bluesmen who will never be heard from again.

-DALE MCGARRIGLE

“Alright, Still” (Capitol) – Lily Allen

Six months after it was a hit in the United Kingdom, Lily Allen’s debut album “Alright, Still” is now available stateside. It’s not surprising that her MySpace page received tens of thousands of hits last summer, as number one single “Smile” made its way across the pond via the Internet. It’s also not surprising that American record labels once again dropped the ball on an engaging, edgy British pop star. Robbie Williams, anyone?

But no matter, as we finally have “Alright, Still,” a cheeky pastiche of hip-hop, ska and pure pop bliss that’s better than anything Robbie Williams has ever done. The 21-year-old Allen positions herself as a bratty, precocious moppet running rampant through the streets of London, training her irreverent eye on the social foibles of the day.

What she lacks in vocal prowess she more than makes up for in sheer force of personality: she’s both coquettish and potty-mouthed, breezing through the cocktail pop of “Everything’s Just Wonderful” and the hilarious blowing-off of boys’ advances on “Knock ‘Em Out.” She even manages to sound bittersweet, as on “Little Things,” where she reminisces about a relationship gone bad.

“Alright, Still” mines the resource-rich territory of second-wave ska, reggae and golden age of hip-hop beats: think the Specials meets De La Soul, fronted by a young, British version of Liz Phair. It’s confident, viciously witty and totally delightful. “Alright, Still” was the pop album of the year in the U.K. in 2006; let’s hope it’s the same in the U.S. for 2007.

-EMILY BURNAM

“Who to Trust, Who to Kill, Who to Love” (Alive) – The Bloody Hollies

With their three-chord nuclear-meltdown riffs, single-string solos, and one of the best names in rock ‘n’ roll, The Bloody Hollies may be the garage-punk band of your dreams.

Striding out of Buffalo, N.Y., with so much swagger that it’s hard to believe they don’t dislocate their hips, the three-piece’s third “long” player is a 30-minute boogie mugging of stone-age guitars and primal screams that makes only glacial movement forward from their previous two albums “If Footmen Tire You . . .” and “Fire at Will.”

This is no insult. The grimly insistent grind of “C’est La Vie, Ma Cherie” almost smothers Wesley Doyle’s fuzzed-out lyrics and summons some of the ’70s darker New Wave. Slippery riffage and gale-force harmonicas crash through “Sad and Lonely,” and the urgent geometry of “Hurry Hurry Hurry” is as gloriously predictable as anything the Ramones ever wrote.

If there is a chink in their armor it is that yelper Wesley Doyle’s panicked screech often makes him Jack White’s vocal twin. It’s not instantly easy to get past, but is worth the effort, because in the end “Who to Trust, Who to Kill, Who to Love” is a thrilling mishmash of southerngaragepunkabilly and the musical equivalent of your favorite comfort food.

As with all comfort foods, the question, “Is it good for you?” comes to mind. The answer, of course is, “Who cares? Just enjoy it.”

-ADAM CORRIGAN

“Frengers” (Columbia) – Mew

Indie rock fans patiently awaiting the next release from Radiohead or Interpol would be well advised to pick up “Frengers,” the major-label debut album from the Danish quartet Mew. Originally issued in the United Kingdom and Europe in 2003, the album finally received a U.S. release in January after positive reviews and heavy college radio play last year for the band’s sophomore record, “And the Glass Handed Kites.”

It’s fortunate that fans here now will have a chance to enjoy the record without paying for an expensive import copy, because “Frengers” is easily one of the best rock albums of the past 10 years. Mew’s unique sound combines the heavy guitar crunch of Radiohead circa “The Bends” and the airy, atmospheric beauty of Sigur Ros, with any sonic excesses kept in check by the band’s innate pop sensibility.

Flawless singles like “Am I Wry? No” or “She Came Home for Christmas” are carried by the stratospheric falsetto of singer Jonas Bjerre, who hits higher notes than either Chris Martin or Thom Yorke could even if aided by helium balloons, while the rest of the band churns up a beautiful racket behind him. The epic rock songs on “Frengers” are balanced by gentler fare like “Her Voice Is Beyond Her Years” and “Behind the Drapes,” lush ballads adorned with strings, piano and tasteful electronic touches. Every note is perfectly placed, and the album ebbs and flows beautifully until the staggering closing track, the 9-minute “Comforting Sounds.” “I don’t feel alright / In spite of these comforting sounds / you make,” Bjerre croons, accompanied by a lone guitar and a twinkling keyboard pulse until his bandmates launch into an extended coda.

As strings, pounding drums, massed choirs of backing vocals and stinging, Sonic Youth-style guitar gradually join the mix, you can’t help but feel that Mew has made a liar of its frontman; after hearing the comforting sounds of “Frengers,” you will feel all right, for sure.

-TRAVIS GASS