Hacienda Brothers

Remember the Osmonds? Marie was "a little bit country," and Donny was "a little bit rock 'n' roll," and they were both quite a bit cheesy. Thankfully, another duo made the country/rock hybrid cool again this past year, when Jack White teamed up with Loretta Lynn. Hot on her honky-tonk heels are the Hacienda Brothers, whose self-titled album has more cross-country appeal than Shania Twain, but without any pop pretentiousness. The Tucson natives combine the sounds of classic country with early soul, and the end result is a slice of earnest Americana, topped with a winsome Western soul flavor. The "brothers" -- six-string slinger Dave "DG" Gonzalez and singer Chris "Gaff" Gaffney -- worked with songwriter/producer Dan Penn (Otis Redding, Aretha Franklin) on the record, spawning 14 eclectic tracks, ranging from rockabilly instrumentals like "Railed" to the saxed-up soul of "Looking for Loneliness." It's a little bit of twang, a little bit of bang, and it's all good.