Ryan Bingham & the Dead Horses: Junky Star

Bingham's slow-burn career as gritty troubadour took a stellar turn when he won an Oscar for "The Weary Kind", his theme to Crazy Heart . This third album attempts no subsequent fancy crossover. Bingham and his band play a mix of sinewy country-rock and downbeat ballads, with Springsteen, Creedence and Townes Van Zandt among their touchstones. Bingham's gravelly vocals ooze experience and integrity, and songs such as "Depression" and "Direction of the Wind" cast an acute eye on the US's social decay. A talent for the times.