Ryan Adams

Ashes & Fire Columbia***

As retirements go, it was surely one of the most short-lived in musical history. Still, Ryan Adams's 13th studio album shakes off the listlessness of his more recent output. Perhaps being unshackled from his now-disbanded backing band, The Cardinals, has allowed the 36-year-old to revel in his solo acoustic roots once again, as heard on the melancholic swing of Dirty Rainand the placid, piano-led Come Home. Elsewhere, the enduringly sensitive instrumentation is enhanced by Norah Jones's backing vocals, and broken up by the rambunctious alt.country rattle of the title track. Producer Glyn Johns (father of previous collaborator Ethan) may allow Adams to wallow a little too freely in the forlorn mood he has always been predisposed to, but there's a hunger to several tracks here that bodes well for the future. See ryanadams.com

Download tracks:Ashes Fire, Rocks