LEE BOB WATSON | ``Aficionado'' Coming on strong like Harry Nilsson by way of Ryan Adams, Watson sounds a lot like someone named Lee Bob should sound: a little bit country, a little bit rock 'n' roll. Song after song, his new debut is an absolute thrill ride through chugging honky-tonks (``Landfill''), road rockers (``Highway 1 Sunset''), spectral country ballads (``Aficionado,'' ``Come on Home''), and even country funk (``Living in the Past''). On the poppier side, ``How Can You Be So Sure of Yourself?'' justifies that Nilsson comparison with a shuffling opening melody uncannily reminiscent of ``Everybody's Talkin'.'' MARIEE SIOUX | ``Faces in the Rocks'' Barely in her 20s, Sioux already knows her way around an evocative and visceral lyric. ``Buried in teeth/ Can't tell if I've got rivers or veins/ Running under my skin/ Flowing out over the plains,'' she sings on ``Buried in Teeth,'' the centerpiece of her stunning debut steeped in Native American sounds and imagery. At the forefront is Sioux's voice, at once fragile, warm, and as elusive as quicksilver. Nowhere does it sound better than on ``Bravitzlana Rubakalva,'' which is a fantastical country she invented for her and her loved one, where ``our gray hair it will not burn.'' AARON ROSS | ``Shapeshifter'' The songs take their sweet time on Ross's new album, often unfurling between six to eight minutes. You'll need that time to fully appreciate the album's considerable charms and quirks. True to the album's title, the avant-rock songs morph into different shapes and sizes as they progress: ``Mississippi Burnin' '' begins as a straight folk-blues before the electric guitars and drums kick in with a wallop of T. Rexian swagger. Meanwhile, on ``The Mountain,'' Ross knocks you out with just an acoustic guitar and a wounded wail that's sure to remind more than a few listeners of Devendra Banhart.
Source: The Boston Globe
