The Lost Trailers (BNA, 2006)

When The Lost Trailer's singer Ryder Lee states emphatically, "I'm a country man," within the song of the same name, he's expressing regional rather than musical roots. This five-piece group may rock harder than most traditional country acts, but they aren't tough enough to compete with the alternative fury of either Drive-By Truckers or My Morning Jacket. Instead, they raise a little guitar-y dust via "Dixie Boy Special," and then remind you of Steve Earle's emotional sincerity with "Summer of Love."

Country men and women will warm up to almost everything on this disc, with the possible exception of when Lee complains, "Why does everybody hate on me?" during "Gravy," which is just a little too urban hillbilly for its own good. This band has included a goodly selection of ballads as well, such as "All This Love," "The Only One" and the biographical "Simple Life."

Most of these tracks are presumably biographical in nature because - except for "All This Love" - the group had a hand in writing everything. The Lost Trailers are a little bit like the dwelling places they're named after: they're functional for travel or as a temporary residences, but most listeners will not want to live in 'em.