"People associate me with writing songs about England," Kinks founder Ray Davies observes during the short film included in the two-disc version of "Working Man's Cafe," his latest solo album. "But I've never seen it that way. I write about characters."

The title of the Davies-directed short, "Americana: A Work in Progress," reveals where the singer-songwriter ventured to find new characters. He found more than that as he toured the United States just after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks and was later shot by a mugger in New Orleans. That incident yielded "Morphine Song," a hospital vignette that's among the best numbers on the Nashville-recorded disc. A collection of unadorned roots-rockers, "Working Man's Cafe" lacks the flair of the Kinks' finest moments, yet boasts smart lyrics and sharp melodies.

The opening "Vietnam Cowboys" finds Davies in one of his familiar anti-modernity funks, lamenting globalization. It's a catchy track, but the album's highlights are more localized: "The Voodoo Walk" and "Angola (Wrong Side of the Law)" are planted in the American South. Davies's homeland isn't entirely forgotten: "Peace in Our Time" borrows its title from a reviled British prime minister, and the lilting "You're Asking Me" evokes one of the most English of phenomena: the Kinks.

On his tour, Davies is backed by Locksley, a young American band whose simple, energetic rock strongly recalls the sound of mid-'60s London. On "Don't Make Me Wait," the Brooklyn quartet flaunts bluesy energy (think early Kinks and Who) but tempers its roughness with airy vocal harmonies (the Beatles and Hollies). This kind of stuff is called power-pop these days and is by no means rare. Yet such Locksley gems as "Only a Girl" aren't merely deft and tuneful; they have a retro-rocking freshness that borders on eerie.

--Mark Jenkins, Weekend (Dec. 5, 2008)