Latest releases reviewed

DWIGHT YOAKAM
Live from Austin, Tx
New West
****

The latest in this Live from Austin series of CD and DVD releases features the great Dwight Yoakam at a time when he was very much the new (and exciting) kid on the block. The date is October 23, 1988, and the skinny honky tonk hero races through a collection including such key tracks as Guitars, Cadillacs, Little Ways and Streets of Bakersfield, for which he is joined by his hero Buck Owens and legendary Tex-Mex accordionist Flaco Jimenez. Yoakam's band includes Pete Anderson, the guitarist and producer who was key to his becoming one of the most important country acts of recent times. It's a good gig, and the 14 tracks balance the light and shade of Yoakam's songs really well. www.newwestrecords.com  - Joe Breen

IRON AND WINE WITH CALEXICO
In the Reins
Touch and Go Records
****

This is one that nearly got away, but which has ghosted into my affections in the past few weeks. Released late last year In the Reins is a mini-album of seven songs - one more haunting and beautiful than the next, although the order changes constantly. This collaboration by two of the most interesting US bands on the fringe augurs well for any future plans. Sam Beam's work in Iron and Wine is full of rich folky resonance, while Calexico's moody border settings have won deserved plaudits. Together they create songs vivid with desert mystery that occasionally carry a fair kick, whether it be via chunky brass or a stoked-up rhtyhm section. Roll on the album.  - Joe Breen