Ammunition

With the firepower title and powerhouse supporting cast--including Lucinda Williams, Tift Merritt, and the Jayhawks' Gary Louris--listeners might expect something a little more explosive than the stripped-down acoustic folk of most of this release. Tim Easton's songwriting can be as elliptical and enigmatic as the opening "Black Dog" or as straightforward as "Next to You," where the harmonies with Merritt have a pillow-talk intimacy.

He pays homage to Bob Dylan with "News Blackout" (the protest side) and "C-Dub" (the bluesier side), and to folk-blues tradition with the closing "Sitting on Top of the World." Elsewhere, he extends the range of his material from the bittersweet kiss-off of "I Wish You Well" to the prayerful irony of "J.P.M.F.Y.M." ("Jesus, protect me from your followers").

The backing is typically so understated that the arrangements are almost subliminal, though Williams's vocal support on "Back to the Pain" seems more foreground than background to Easton's wispy, reedy voice, and the rock of "Not Today" seems all the more propulsive amid what surrounds it. --Don McLeese