Zoysia (Bloodshot, 2006)

Like the best qualities of a red, juicy steak, Bottle Rockets' newest release is raw roots rock music personified. Those who feel that polish in musical presentation is a studio sellout will find kindred spirits here in the form of the four St. Louis-based band members and album producer Jeff Powell.

At first trip through these 11 songs, from the high impact "Better Than Broken" through the disc ending title cut, the energy is immediately impressive, but like the hardy grass for which the album is named, the rest of the package will grow on you.

With music this raw and raucous, it's the subtle things that are both slow to surface but also what separates the music from merely a powerful, noisy exercise. This is the band's eighth album and second for Bloodshot, and they seem to have settled in quite nicely. "I Quit" and "Mountain to Climb" are the best songs from a disc consistently pleasing to the end.