Courtyard Hounds: “Courtyard Hounds” (Columbia)

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Almost every song on this self-titled album brings the same two adjectives to mind: pretty and personal. Written mostly by the Dixie Chicks’ Emily Robison with Martin Strayer, and mainly addressing her divorce from Charlie Robison, it’s almost an answer record to his “Beautiful Day.” With sister (and fellow Dixie Chick) Martie Maguire, she creates a pleasing sound that’s not quite folk-pop, but somewhere in that neighborhood. Adult soft-pop, maybe? That certainly describes the upbeat “I Miss You,” and the duet with Jakob Dylan, “See You in the Spring,” a pleasant counterpoint to the sisters’ harmonies. They almost veer into rock with the bluegrass-tinged “Ain’t No Son” and the honky-tonk piano and handclap-driven tune, “I Didn’t Make a Sound,” but not too hard. Despite the occasional banjo, fiddle and mandolin, this is also not a country disc, and it’s not a Dixie Chicks knockoff. And that’s just fine.
Buy if you like: Shawn Colvin, Sarah McLachlan

The New Pornographers, “Together” (Matador)
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“Together” is the best, most satisfying effort from The New Pornographers since 2005’s “Twin Cinema” or maybe the Canadian power-pop ensemble’s 2000 debut. Why? The songs, the songs, the songs. Head Pornographer A.C. Newman has crafted some fine tunes that range from the Led Zeppelin-influenced “Your Hands (Together)” to the harmony-filled pop-rock of “Up in the Dark” and “Silver Jenny Dollar” and folkish “If You Can’t See My Mirrors” and “My Shepherd,” which features St. Vincent on guitar, one of many guests. “Crash Years,” the disc’s best track, showcases the band’s not-so-secret weapon: the powerhouse vocals of Neko Case, who also shines on “My Shepherd.” “Together” has a few wobbly moments. But for the most part, it’s just what New Pornographers fans want to hear: pop rock with just enough quirks and twists to captivate, delivered by a fine band.
Buy if you like: Elvis Costello, The Posies.

Taylor Hawkins & the Coattail Riders: “Red Light Fever” (Shanabelle/RCA)
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The hiatus of the Foo Fighters gives Taylor Hawkins, the drummer in that band, a chance to step out of the shadow of head Foo Dave Grohl. And it turns out that Hawkins’ own music is considerably different from that of his main band. For one thing, Hawkins apparently has a taste for prog rock, as songs like “It’s Over” and “Hell To Pay” with their multi-faceted arrangements and extended solos, attest. (Guest appearances from Queen’s Brian May and Roger Taylor are another clue about Hawkins’ epic rock leanings.) There’s also more than a hint of Queens Of The Stone Age’s mix of punk and stoner rock on tracks like “Not Bad Luck” and “Your Shoes.”  Such influences are intriguing enough, unfortunately Hawkins’ songwriting isn’t as interesting as his tastes. A few tracks are well worth hearing, such as “Sunshine” and “Not Bad Luck” — both of which lean more toward Queens Of The Stone Age territory. But the CD as a whole feels scattered, and songs like “It’s Over” and “Never Enough” lack focus, and just don’t rise to the occasion on a melodic level. Though “Red Light Fever” isn’t a washout, Hawkins won’t want to let go of his day job just yet.
Buy if you like: Queens Of The Stone Age, Queen

Hoodoo Gurus: “Purity Of Essence” (Self-released)
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It’s hard to believe it’s been two decades plus since the Hoodoo Gurus briefly became darlings of MTV with songs like “What’s My Scene,” “Bittersweet” and “Come Anytime.” The Aussie band, though, has never totally gone away — although the it went on hiatus for a few years in the late 1990s. And the group’s new CD, “Purity Of Essence,” proves that the Hoodoo Guru’s guitar-driven brand of rocking pop is still very much intact. In fact, this album would easily fit alongside such ‘80s albums as “Mars Needs Guitars!,”  “Blow Your Cool!” and “Magnum Cum Louder.” Once again, there’s nothing particularly ground-breaking about the music of frontman Dave Faulkner and his bandmates. The group just keeps cranking out smartly crafted, hook-laden guitar pop. Highlights here include “Crackin’ Up,” “Burnt Orange” and “What’s In It For Me?” — three driving rockers in the tradition of “What’s My Scene,” as well as the ballads “Are You Sleeping?” and “Somebody Take Me Home,” which are both melodic and sturdy. The Hoodoo Gurus may never regain the success the band had in the ‘80s in the United States, but the group is doing something very few acts achieve – moving into a fourth decade sounding as inspired as ever.
Buy if you like: The Romantics, The Smithereens

Sara Hickman: “Absence of Blame” (Sleeveless)
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Sara Hickman is known as a cheerful person who sings happy songs. But on “Absence of Blame,” she lets it all out: anger, sadness, hurt … and she gets seductive, too, on the understated groove of “I’m So Glad You Came Along” and the sexy “99%.” “Size 6 Dress” is a scathing commentary about our obsession with looks. The sad, affecting and dramatic centerpiece, “Blown Away,” conveys the anger and pain of losing friends to suicide. Hickman didn’t write “Juliet & Juliet,” which sounds like a Civil War-era dirge, but she sings the song of forbidden love with her high-school sweetheart, a woman. In the end, after jumping through many moods and styles (folk, pop, touches of rock and R&B) she comes to the spiritual finale, “Love is There.” Good thing she starts and ends on positive notes, because the songs in-between are gut-wrenching. And wonderfully honest.
Buy if you like: Eliza Gilkyson, Nanci Griffith

The Krayolas: “Americano” (Box)
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“Americano,” the third album in as many years from the veteran band fronted by Hector Saldana, takes the Krayloas deep into the heart of their hometown of San Antonio. The Tex-Mex Beatles still know their way around a great pop song, a la “If I Can’t Have You” and the broken-hearted British Invasion blues of “Missed The Last Train.” With “Good Little Girl (She Don’t),” they show they can come crawling out of the garage with the best of them. But “Americano” is a more varied offering, with its roots in the band’s hometown. That starts with the Sir Douglas Quintet-ish “Exit/Salida” with SDQ’s Augie Meyers on accordion and extends to the West Side Horns, who are all over the record. It extends to place-specific songs like the South Side neighborhood fruit stand at Nogalitos and Zarzamora that is celebrated on the cumbia-meets-pop “Fruteria” and “Home,” a gorgeous ballad about a Latino woman at a bus stop that brings to mind Elvis Costello. With broken-hearted love songs like “Hey Carmelita,” the Dylanesque “Piso Diez,” the soul of “You’re On Top” and the horn-driven R&B swing of “Show A Little Kindness,” “Americano” reaches to the roots of San Antonio and its music and connects from start to finish.
Buy if you like: The Sir Douglas Quintet, the Kinks