Alejandro Escovedo

When singer-songwriter Alejandro Escovedo starts off his latest album, The Boxing Mirror, with the line Have another drink on me, he's not raising his glass in some tired gesture of drunken cool. Instead, he's referring to the pathos — and, ultimately, the respect — of someone brought to his knees by excess. Though Escovedo recently gave up saturnalian excess due to health complications, he's long had a knack for avoiding lyrical excess and melodrama. His songs seem to crack under the weight of adult failure, resignation and coming to grips with the fact that internal struggles never end. Mirror conveys the passion of a man who thought he'd never be able to make another record. Here's hoping this show will carry the same spirit — and bring new life to Mirror's spare, John Cale-produced material.