Texas Albums

Miranda Lambert, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend: It didn't exactly do Carrie Underwood or Taylor Swift-class sales, but this Lindale (near Tyler) spitfire's second album single-handedly showed that mainstream country can still be down-to-earth ("Famous in a Small Town"), self-effacing ("Guilty in Here") and, if you happen to be the ­abusive-boyfriend type, downright dangerous ("Gunpowder and Lead"). "Love Letters" was one of the year's better ballads, too. See Also: Patricia Vonne, Firebird; St. Vincent, Marry Me; Hearts of Animals, Lemming Baby (EP)

Insect Warfare, World Extermination: A blood-curdling double-barrel shotgun blast of straight-up noise and information-age rage ("Mass Communication Mindfuck," "Self Termination"). The machines may be taking over, but the local grindcore trio ain't going down without one hell of a fight — even though it's not exactly crystal clear just whose side they're on. See Also: Linus Pauling Quartet, All Things Are Light; Amplified Heat, How Do You Like the Sound of That; Lions, No Generation

Fatal Flying Guilloteens, Quantum Fucking: Houston's long-running standard-­bearers of jagged-edge garage-punk crank out their finest set of sloppy, kinetic, stage-­destroying songcraft to date. The next time you pass out in the gutter and come to with all sorts of mysterious cuts and bruises, Quantum Fucking probably had something (or everything) to do with how you got there. See Also: Something Fierce, "Teenage Ruins" (split 7"); Teeners, "Hit Me" (7"); Bulemics, ...Still Too Young to Care

Billy Joe Shaver, Everybody's Brother: When he wasn't (allegedly) shooting people in the face, Waco's former official Texas State Musician and eternal outlaw poet laureate toured incessantly behind the best honky-tonk gospel album in a long while. Shaver's religious philosophy may not be the most nuanced ("If you don't love Jesus, you can go to hell"), but after a lifetime of hard knocks, his hard-won faith is hard to argue with. See Also: Willie Nelson, Ray Price & Merle Haggard, Last of the Breed; Johnny Bush, Kashmere Gardens Mud; Asleep at the Wheel, Reinventing the Wheel

Jesse Dayton & Brennen Leigh, Holdin' Our Own: The ex-Houstonian Road King and his Minnesota-born, Austin-dwelling partner genuflect toward all the great country duet tandems — George & Tammy, Conway & Loretta, Johnny & June — but their pitch-perfect stories of shapely short-order cooks and ne'er-do-wells enrolled in the "Two Step Program" hold their own indeed. "I guess we hung the moon," Dayton sings, and they very nearly did. See Also: Texas Sapphires, Roadhouse Gems; Mice & Rifles, All Kites Up; Rachel Loy, Tongue & Teeth

UGK, Underground Kingz: This sprawling, steamy double-length Gulf Coast rap treatise debuted at No. 1 — the only local album to claim such a distinction last year — before tragically becoming Pimp C's (born Chad Butler) diamond-studded, gold-certified, Grammy-nominated epitaph. If indeed "there's a heaven up there for real G's," though, we'll see him again. See Also: Lil' Flip, I Need Mine; Chingo Bling, They Can't Deport Us All; Paul Wall, Get Money, Stay True

Z-Ro, Power: His first album since serving out a parole-violation bid, Power finds Houston's self-proclaimed "King of the Ghetto" in an appropriately foul mood. Vividly reflected in his claustrophobic, minor-key production, Z-Ro's world is an exceedingly bleak place where hustling is the only option and survival is far from guaranteed. Though "Lovely Day" injects a rare note of optimism, Z-Ro knows there's nothing romantic about his life or lifestyle: "Fuck that Hollywood shit, I'm from the corner." See Also: Chamillionaire, Ultimate Victory; Trae, Life Goes On; Scarface, M.A.D.E.

Evelyn Rubio y Calvin Owens Orchestra Azul, La Mujer Que Canta el Blues: Calvin Owens keeps Houston's blues flame burning by recruiting saxophone-blowing Mexico City native Evelyn Rubio for this swinging bilingual banquet that effortlessly relocates ZZ Top's "Francine" and Barbara Lynn's "You'll Lose a Good Thing" somewhere south of the border. In a year when American culture seemed in constant conflict with its Latino neighbors, La Mujer was a welcome fusion of the two. See Also: Doyle Bramhall Sr., Is It News; Texas Northside Kings, Texas Northside Kings; Big Robert Smith, With the El Orbits and Friends

Girl in a Coma, Both Before I'm Gone: This female San Antonio trio can count Joan Jett among their fans — Both Before I'm Gone was released in May on Jett's Blackheart label — and they do love rock and roll. However, they love rock and roll as practiced by the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Sleater-Kinney and the Breeders, where wistful pop melodies go hand in hand with abrasive, unruly guitars. See Also: Black Math Experiment, All You Need Is Blood (EP); Paula Maya, Paula; Masonic, Things I Am Guilty Of

Macon Greyson, 20th Century Accidents: Members of this Dallas guitar-beating quartet exorcise their "John Q Blues" with more than a few belts from Uncle Tupelo's whiskey bottle, proving, for the approximately 1,835th time, that turning your amps up as loud as they can go is still foolproof, if temporary, therapy. See Also: Lil Cap'n Travis, Twilight on Sometimes Island; Intodown, Intodown; Mandible, (Here Comes the) Mandible

chris.gray@houstonpress.com