I don’t know about you, but sometimes I just want to make sure that my inner sensitive-male and I keep in touch. We all have those records, I imagine. Last week, I told you folks about Paul Masson, a soulful, sensitive performer who reminded me of another perhaps even more sensitive chap, Ray Lamontagne. Well, add Peter Bradley Adams (Official / Myspace) to the list of artists that will help me from becoming too brutish and hopefully maintain my ability to fully connect with my feelings…or something.

The songs on Adams’ third and most recent record, Traces, are predominantly acoustic folk ballads, with a touch of plugged in quietness gently folded in on occasion. The former member of pop duo eastmountainsouth pleasantly croons while never delving into the loathsome depths that many troubadours can fall into when it’s just them, a notepad and a guitar.

Listen: Peter Bradley Adams – “For You”

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Anyone who has read The Gobb Knob recently likely is starting to pick up on the fact that I have been digging a good bit of E.P.’s lately. I haven’t exactly been quiet about it. An E.P. that has garnered many a spin in the CD player recently has been Paul Masson’s (Official / Myspace) self-titled, debut E.P.

There is a lot to like inside of the 5 songs contained here. Masson’s Lamontagne-esque vocals give the tracks a depth that many current singer/songwriters and other aspiring folkies only hope to carve out for their own material. In fact, now that I think about comparison’s to the work of Ray Lamontagne, even though Masson hails from Baltimore, I can’t help but think that Masson’s disc is what Lamontagne’s Trouble record might have sounded like, had it been recorded in the sunny glow of Laurel Canyon with a pedal steel player that is as skilled as These United States’ Tim Hnatow.

LISTEN: Paul Masson – “My Girl Baltimore”

LISTEN: Paul Masson – “Where Have All the Gentlemen Gone”

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What? There's only one couch in the free clinic's waiting room? Just kidding.

I’m not gonna lie. Every so often I want, and even need, to pop in a record that isn’t some slow, quiet folk-y think piece. Every so often I want to get pumped-up for Friday night, a weekend at the lake or even an afternoon on the patio. When that need for loud and loose encouragement arises, many of my favorite artists and albums simply will not do. Ray Lamontagne? Nope. Swell Season? Nope. How about that new A.A. Bondy record that I raved about last week? Heck naw.

For those of you looking to put a record on that just rocks out with no pretense of anything other than rocking out – southern style, I give you Blackberry Smoke. Their album, Little Piece of Dixie comes out on Sept 29 from Rock Ridge Music. The lead single, which was previously on their independently released EP also named Little Peice of Dixie, is “Good One Comin’ On”. The story of a group of friends looking to get lit on a weekend at the lake while singing along to great songs from the past accomplishes exactly what it’s aiming to. One listen and this song will likely rattle around in your brain-pan for some time.

Click here to listen to “Good One Comin’ On” from Little Piece of Dixie