It’s the time of year for rolling down car windows to let the wind blow back your hair, and to make the experience complete, good music is required.

The Black Keys have always been a good choice for the automobile, and “Attack & Release” (Nonesuch Records) continues the pattern, but for a different reason. Singer/guitarist Dan Auerbach’s riffs aren’t quite as lethal, and Patrick Carney’s drumming isn’t as thunderous. But with hip-hop DJ Danger Mouse as producer and Marc Ribot adding his idiosyncratic guitar, the Akron, Ohio, duo generates wave after crunchy wave of sound.

In contrast, The Raconteurs’ “Consolers of the Lonely” rocks much harder than their 2006 debut, “Broken Boy Soldiers.” The power pop influence is from Brendan Benson (keyboards, guitar, vocals), but Jack White’s screaming guitar and restless vocals mix in the influence of too many 1970s groups to list.

The influence of Bob Dylan and The Band is all over the Felice Brothers’ self-titled disc, with brother Ian’s vocals sounding a lot like Bob’s without descending into parody.

This story continues below
Advertisement

Nosing out the Felice Brothers for the best rock album so far this year are the Black Crowes with “Warpaint” (Silver Arrow Records), their first studio album since 2001’s “Lions.” The time off, and the addition of slide guitarist Luther Dickinson, seems to have deepened their sound without fundamentally changing it. Brothers Chris Robinson (vocals) and Rich Robinson (guitar) wrote all songs but the Stones-tinged gospel jam “God’s Got It.”

Moving over to the ladies, Cat Power’s “Jukebox” (Matador) features Chan Marshall’s smoky, languid vocals rearranging songs made famous by Joni Mitchell, Frank Sinatra, James Brown, Hank Williams, Bob Dylan and more.

Goldfrapp’s “Seventh Tree” (Mute) is another great late-night album, with Will Gregory’s acoustic guitar-based arrangements and Allison Goldfrapp’s soft vocals forming a lush bed of sound.

Allison Moorer covers Johnny Cash, U2, Gillian Welch, Nina Simone and more on the pleasant “Mockingbird” (New Line). But her sister Shelby Lynne’s “Just a Little Lovin’ ” (Lost Highway), a tribute to Dusty Springfield, is spectacular, with Lynne honoring a great original voice with fresh interpretations of her own.

I’m still not sure why Americana singer-songwriter Tift Merritt isn’t a bigger star, but whoever listens to “Another Country” (Lost Highway) or her two previous efforts will certainly become a fan.

Speaking of big stars, Dolly Parton returns to a straight country sound on “Backwoods Barbie” (Dolly).

Rounder Records has released three of my favorite bluegrass CDs so far this year. “Through the Window of a Train” from Blue Highway continues that band’s string of great albums with inventive picking and soulful singing.

Jamie Dailey (Doyle Lawson and Quicksilver) and Darren Vincent (Ricky Skaggs’ Kentucky Thunder) left great bands to form their own band and record “Dailey and Vincent,” a high-energy set of modern bluegrass and gospel with a strong traditional streak.

A group of Nashville studio musicians who started jamming for the fun of it, the Steeldrivers self-titled debut is driving progressive bluegrass led by Jim Stapleton’s bluesy lead vocals that fit somewhere between Eric Clapton and Tom Waits.

The Punch Brothers’ “Punch” (Nonesuch) is the most ambitious and exciting acoustic project this year. Led by mandolin genius Chris Thile, the band brings mind-blowing precision to Thile’s 40-minute, four-movement piece “The Blind Leaving the Blind.”

Finally, you can’t really enjoy the lengthening evenings of spring without a little Van Morrison. “Keep It Simple” (Exile/Lost Highway) is just that, relaxed enough to let the inherent soul of Van’s magic voice shine through.

Aaron Keith Harris writes about politics, the media, pop culture and music and is a regular contributor to National Review Online and Bluegrass Unlimited. He can be reached at aaronkeithharris@gmail.com.