Album: Ryan Bingham and the Dead Horses, "Junky Star" (Lost Highway)

Ryan Bingham's name recognition skyrocketed when he won the best song Oscar for his work on "Crazy Heart" with producer T Bone Burnett, with whom he is reunited on "Junky Star." Bingham's first two records were made with former Black Crowe Marc Ford at the helm and their sonic sprawl -- amps-to-11 rockers, campfire tales and everything in between -- positioned the singer/guitarist as multi-faceted but not necessarily focused.

Burnett allows Bingham to retain his wide-ranging scope while controlling the wilder elements. The two Texans look to their brethren for direction -- there's a lot of Steve Earle in the vocals and James McMurtry in the lyrics, an openness in the overall sound. The dozen songs on "Junky Star" are rooted in the blues, either in the finger-picked or slide guitar: "Direction of the Wind" runs through the same blues filters Bob Dylan uses; "Lay My Head on the Rail" is Bingham's homesick blues; and in the midst of ominous percussion sounds on "Hard Worn Trail," gentle Delta blues are used as a musical contrast to the song's doom-and-gloom tone.

Blues, too, is the theme in Bingham's lyrics. He's often lost, his soul conflicted about how use memories to move forward. Hard times seem to follow him and it troubles him as he takes off from home and does not necessarily find a more secure, "better" world. In "Hallelujah," he explores the consequences of two down-on-their-luck drifters coming face-to-face, their destiny suddenly placed in one man's hands. "Strange Feelin' in the Air," one of several songs that bring together those themes, is brilliantly structured tension, his howl complemented by a punishing acoustic-blues moving at the pace of a trickle. Airy in spots, it picks up in density as it returns into an avalanche of calamity.

The one song you need: "Hallelujah"