are a band that likes to do things the old-fashioned way. They proudly proclaim that they record their music "on glorious two-inch analog tape," they still think in terms of albums with two (or four) sides, and their sound is firmly rooted in the traditions of Southern rock and the blues. They also hark back to a time when rock bands made an album every year followed by a tour, and if haven't quite held firm to that schedule, since they broke through with in 2001, they've managed to release six studio albums, a live CD/DVD, another DVD-only live set, and a collection of rarities and unreleased tracks, all while keeping up a demanding touring schedule. Any band that busy is likely to believe it deserves a rest every once in a while, and in a sense, 2011's feels a little bit like a working vacation. The album is notably short on full-blown rockers and sounds scaled back from the three-guitar attack that's been their hallmark, often dominated by acoustic guitars and the muffled but determined report of 's drums. The songs also find the band going back to the well on themes it has visited before -- the man of the Lord with a broad but carefully hidden streak of corruption in 's foreshadowed not one but two songs here, and the title track, and the damaged ex-cop of feels like a cousin to the haunted war veteran of But none of this adds up to an album that's at all lazy. The craft of and 's songwriting is as strong as ever, drawing believable characters and giving them lives that make dramatic sense, and just keeps getting better with the graceful and hard-edged And if the music on is less physical than what typically deliver, it's emphatic and passionate, with an impressive sense of dynamics and as much soul as these folks have ever summoned in the studio -- they've rocked a lot harder, but they've never cut a more natural and telling groove. There are moments where recalls , another album that makes much out of feel and the way musicians play off one another, and if this isn't as likely to be regarded as a masterpiece, it's also less self-obsessive, and reveals some sides of the band hasn't captured in the studio before. After ten years of hard work, are still learning, still growing, and still feeling out new ideas, and on they show that even when they're relaxed, they're still one of America's best bands. ~ Mark Deming