THE HONEYDOGS “WHAT COMES AFTER

At this point Adam Levy and his band The Honeydogs are preaching to the choir. This prolific alt. county band is criminally under appreciated as they’ve moved effortlessly from Gram Parsons styled rock to progressive pop, country and back. What Comes After is less ambitious than the earlier masterwork of 10,000 years, but still contains some incredible, melodic compositions. Starting with the acoustic blues riff on “Particles or Waves,” it has an easy soulful chorus, with those cool horns in the break.

Then the horns lead us to the best track here “Aubben” with its steady rhythm, undeniable hook and timely message (“Do you need more than you have?”) The Honeydogs combine influences from Bacharach to Ryan Adams on the lovely “Everything In It’s Place.” Another favorite here, “Broke It, Buy It” has that jaunty piano riff, jazzy sax solo and quirky melody that can only come from Levy. His vocals remain as distinct as Elvis Costello on the apocalyptic ballad “Death By Boredom.” Some complex guitar work is a highlight on “Better Word” and we go full country with banjo melody on “Blood Is Blood.” Not everything here sticks, and some songs just drag along (“Devil We Do”) but there is enough here to make it a highly recommended album.