It's hard to believe that Darkness & the Light is Ben Reel's sixth studio album. Time flies and all that, but the songs and Reel's performance are certainly the equal of anything he's done to date. His energy and desire to communicate, to sing, is infectious, and the Armagh man's band rises to the challenge. This is a meaty, mature, well-produced record concerned with serious topics, from wasted lives to history's dark shadows. But it's also resolutely retro and somewhat derivative. Reel wears his influences openly, and Springsteen, Morrison, Orbison and even Rodney Crowell come to mind listening to Counting Down the Days, You're Not Alone, What Is Done, Watershed and Heart Just Won't Heal. The album is bookended by the title track and the anthemic Our Father's Sins, which speak to the turmoil, internal and external, that runs through the music. benreel.com

Download: Heart Just Won't Heal, What Is Done