The Sadies: New Seasons

Dallas and Travis Good—the brothers who form the core of The Sadies—have never fallen prey to the neo-traditionalist trappings that hinder some alt-country artists. The Sadies are generally associated with alt-country, partly because they were on Bloodshot Records, but mostly because of their sound: It lived in the overlap of Americana, folk, psychedelia, and '60s rock. The phenomenon grew more pronounced on 2004's Favourite Colours, where The Sadies stepped further into tasteful psychedelia and dreamy, Byrds-esque pop, and it continues on New Seasons. The album remains rooted in Americana and the brothers' fleet-fingered guitar playing, especially in its first half, but New Seasons also favors subdued, airy folk. As time passes, it sounds samey, though rich nevertheless.