Audio Mixers: Ben Kweller; Steve Mazur .

Advance hype on Ben Kweller's CHANGING HORSES was that it would be the indie rock singer-songwriter's move into country music, a conceit furthered by the album's allusive title and the package's old-fashioned Carter Family style graphics. But taken as a whole, CHANGING HORSES is closer in both style and execution to past country-rock gems like Neil Young's HARVEST: it's a pop album with some twang to it, instead of a full-bore country record. Highlights include the charming opener, "Gypsy Rose," and the spirited bar-room call to arms, "Fight."

After flirting with country music throughout his solo career, Ben Kweller embraces his Texas roots with Changing Horses, an earthy record filled with pedal steel guitars and honky tonk storytelling. Kweller's southern pedigree has always made itself known -- in the twang of his acoustic guitar, in the lilt of his voice -- but Changing Horses shines a spotlight on those nuances, replacing the heartland rock & roll of his past albums with a healthy dose of Americana. This is saloon-styled songwriting, complete with flashes of close harmony and images of Greyhound stations, starry skies, and homebound highways. Kweller sounds confident throughout, playing the rustic raconteur like a twentysomething Leon Russell, but the album's secret weapon is newcomer Kitt Kitterman, whose pedal steel riffs and Dobro arpeggios lend some authenticity to Kweller's southern state of mind. Nowhere is that mentality clearer than in the barroom gospel of "Fight," a three-minute credo of carpe diem ethics and multi-part harmonies. Meanwhile, "Sawdust Man" strikes a balance between bouncing Beatles-styled pop and loose, half-drunk folk-rock, while "Things I Like to Do" spins a simple love song narrative with relaxed wit. For those perennial fans who always wished Kweller had turned songs like "Lizzy" into swampy Nashville ballads, Changing Horses marks a defining moment in the songwriter's career, offering up a batch of pastiche-free country music that, like Ryan Adams' Jacksonville City Nights, may be a promising sign of what's to come. ~ Andrew Leahey