Friday, November 30, 2007

THE U-LINERS"The U-Liners"Azalea City

THE U-LINERS' SELF-TITLED, full-length debut qualifies as roots rock, but because it also reflects frontman Joe Uehlein's longtime devotion to social activism, the music often arrives with a message.

Road songs, rock covers and an original tune trumpeting a now-shuttered Silver Spring nightspot ("Down at the Half Moon Tonight") are featured, along with folk anthems, labor ballads and immigration songs composed by Woody Guthrie ("Pastures of Plenty"), Joe Glazer ("The Mill Was Made of Marble") and Dave Alvin ("Out in California"). Although the original tunes enliven things now and then, beginning with the quintet's fiddle-laced honky-tonk travelogue "Three Weeks to Vegas," the real treats come later: when the band pays twangy tribute to Merle Travis and Tex Williams via "Smoke, Smoke, Smoke," when it unearths the Gillian Welch-David Rawlings gem "Wayside Back in Time" and when it puts a hauntingly harmonized spin on "Pastures of Plenty."

Uehlein's affinity for Deadhead pleasures is also evident. Three Jerry Garcia/Robert Hunter tunes make the cut, including strong, back-to-back performances of "Ship of Fools" and "Dire Wolf." The band's reach sometimes exceeds its grasp elsewhere, but the payoffs are plentiful, thanks in large part to fiddler-vocalist Mindy McWilliams and guitarist-vocalist Avril Smith.

Two welcome guests turn up before the album comes to a satisfying close: versatile guitarist John Penovich and keyboardist Jon Carroll, who plays Hammond organ and electric piano on Allen Toussaint's "I'll Take a Melody."

-- Mike Joyce

Appearing Saturday at Iota (703-522-8340,http://www.iotaclubandcafe.com). Show starts at 9.