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OLD 97’S If you were to pinpoint exactly when Stewart Ransom Miller, serial ladykiller, was transformed into a lovesick puppy dog, it was undoubtedly 2002, when the Old 97’s frontman got married and released solo album The Instigator, an occasionally nauseating love letter set to music. Still, even if the guy has traded “I went through the motions with her on top and me on liquor” (1997’s “Barrier Reef”) for “You know I love you, and I always will” (the new “I Will Remain”), Miller can still pen a damn fine pop song. Make no mistake, Blame It On Gravity is a guitar-pop record at heart. Other than a few twangy flourishes here and there, bassist Murry Hammond appears to be the one keeping the country faith, delivering one of his best performances on “Color Of A Lonely Heart Is Blue.” Mostly, it’s Miller and the carefully crafted likes of “No Baby I,” a brisk, low-key strummer with a ripping, short-lived solo. It’s these brief sparks, also heard on rumbling hootenanny “Early Morning,” that will have longtime devotees pining for the days before cupid’s arrow struck, when Old 97’s music was a sonic manifestation of whiskey, infidelity and country/punk attitude. [New West, www.newwesstrecords.com] —Matt Ryan
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