The Fallen Stars' "found & lost" features fine Springsteen-style storytelling backed by a Wilco-esque soundtrack that captures the bittersweet charm and candor of the Replacements.

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ROCK: Roots Rock, ROCK: Classic Rock



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Imagine that Joe Strummer, Bruce Springsteen, and Paul Westerberg were the same person. Now imagine that this "Joe Springberg" married Maria McKee and they started a band with the Stones back in the Gram Parsons years, you know, when they were still cool. Throw in a copy of Wilco's Yankee Hotel Foxtrot and you might be coming close to describing the sound of the Fallen Stars.

"What do we sound like? Well, if we had come out 30 years ago, we would have been called rock & roll, no question. Now there are so many subgenres, no one plays plain old rock anymore. I could say we're 'garage-alt.country-post-punk-roots-rock,'" says Bobbo Byrnes, thoughtfully strumming an ever present guitar, "but that's a hell of a mouthful for a rock band." Byrnes is the lead singer, songwriter and guitarist for the band and is joined by bass-playing wife Tracy, keyboardist J. Williams, and drummer Chuck Rogers.

Their new album, "found & lost," recounts the rise and fall of a relationship, from the loneliness of "Break the Skin" and fragile first discovery of love in "In Reach," through the disillusionment of "Wedding Eyes," and finally the bitter, numbing taste of regret of "San Diego."

Bookended by two theme pieces appropriately titled "Found" and "Lost," the album weaves together songs ranging from achingly atmospheric ballads (Heading South,) to Rickenbacker 12-string jangle-pop (Sioux City) to scorching rockers (Double Down, Coming Home) in a surprisingly cohesive narrative. Stand out tracks include the tipsy, country-tinged ballad "Ellie" and the hard-driving, all-or-nothing "Double Down."

Much of the album was inspired by those close to Byrnes. "When everyone you know begins to fall apart, what else can you do but write an album about it?"