Record Rack

*** Old 97’s, “20 Fight Songs,� Elektra. Despite the Americana tinge of its name, Old 97’s are not your standard-issue neo-traditional revivalists. Instead of conjuring evocations of hard-working plain folk and corn-pone heartache, this quartet doesn’t flinch from real-life concerns. It also has a stronger taste for hard-driving pop melodies than its roots-rock brethren.

On its latest release, lead singer Rhett Miller digs into the muck of broken relationships and tries to emerge with his self-esteem intact. The lyrics tend to be fatalistic and self-pitying, the musings of a loner who has been burned too many times to hold out hope for a rosier future. On “Lonely Holiday,� Miller sings such lines as “I’ve thought so much about suicide / Parts of me have already died.�

The melodies tell a different story, though, and that’s what gives “20 Fight Songs� its resonant zing. The band revels in the charged ebullience of ringing power chords and sharply articulated riffs, as on such tracks as “Lonely Holiday� and “Murder (Or a Heart Attack).� But Old 97’s can also shift into downcast shuffles and twisted rockabilly. That desire to roam across different styles serves Old 97’s well.

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Albums are rated on a scale of one star (poor), two stars (fair), three stars (good) and four stars (excellent). The albums are already released unless otherwise noted.