Red Guitar

Jangle rock peaked about two decades ago, but Based on a Blue Story is a nice reminder of why people liked it so much the first, second and third time around. This Kansas City five-piece is centered on the harmony vocals of songwriters John McKenna and Nick Nave, who channeled the dusty, sweet harmonies of the Jayhawks and the '60s yearning of the Connells into a comfortable and comforting sound of their own. The band's nondescript name comes from the mysterious song "Inarticulate Blue" (Heart like a red guitar/A red candle dreaming), and though not particularly marquee friendly, the tag does the band justice. Red Guitar isn't afraid to sound mournfully pretty on "Rosemary" (the kind of song everyone wishes Ryan Adams would slow down and write) or the banjo-filled "Better Way to Move On." Its melancholy has enough depth to move into new territory opened up in the '80s, during the first "rediscovery" of Gram Parsons.