Ron Franklin

With a distinctive roots style that borrows from all the greats (Buddy Holly, Neil Young, the Boss, and especially Bob Dylan, to name but a few), singer-songwriter Ron Franklin fires off 12 comfortingly familiar-sounding folk-blues ditties on his self-titled 2008 album for Alive. The songs have a grittiness, though, that gives the album a lo-fi DIY attitude, setting Franklin apart from the multitude of earnest roots rockers dotting the Americana landscape. That said, there's also a wonderfully nostalgic romanticism to these tracks that's often missing in underground songwriters. Franklin gives listeners the best of both worlds here.