Randy Weeks

Going My Way, Randy Weeks's first Texas record since moving from Los Angeles to Austin, involves subtle changes from his likable albums Sugar Finger (2007) and Sold Out at the Cinema (2004). Weeks's pop smarts and adult plainspeak are still in abundance, but Going My Way has a straight-ahead feel and more muscle than before, thanks to bassist and producer Will Sexton, Austin ace drummer Rick Richards (Ray Wylie Hubbard) and lead guitarist/Weeks LP regular Tony Gilkyson (X). Weeks swerves smartly between summery, Tom Petty-ish pop-rockers like "I Couldn't Make It" and pretty love songs like "That's What I'd Do," to signature darker stuff like the tightly wound "Black Coffee and Lifesavers" and the bitter "Hard to Believe." Lots of Going My Way sounds perfect for films (Weeks's songs are all over several Farrelly Brothers flicks), and "A Lot to Talk About" ("...but we ain't never gonna talk about it") and "Summer of Love," a brilliant followup to Weeks's 2007 L.A. radio hit "Transistor Radio," are obvious radio material. All in all, Going My Way is as solid and muscular an album as Weeks has ever made. Welcome to Texas, cowboy.