A national newspaper with some recent credibility problems ran an article this past Sunday about the scourge of melisma - the oversinging of a song where a single syllable carries the baggage of a half-dozen notes. Think Mariah Carey and, in the context of the article, "American Idol". If you've ever cringed at the unbearable time warp of Whitney Houston's "I-I-I-I-I-I Will Always Love You" then you've suffered the sting of melisma.

If the rococo stylings of the diva warble leave you aching for the simple pleasure of a good song with straightforward vocals, look no further than the down-to-earth melodies of the Jayhawks, who bring their folk-pop to life in their latest CD Rainy Day Music. They are the anti-melisma group.

Around since the mid-eighties, the Jayhawks finally got some long-overdue attention with 2000's Smile and the radio hit "I'm Gonna Make you Love Me." "Rainy Day Music" is more of the same: kinda country, kinda folky, all great. The arrangements are bare-bones and there isn't a trace of artifice or showboating in the instruments which ring clear and true. The opening track "Stumbling Through the Dark" (co-written by Matthew Sweet) is great, and Gary Louris hits gold over and over with "Tailspin" and "Save it for a Rainy Day." You won't be wailing on an air guitar to "Rainy Day Music" but if you love the simple pleasure of a beautiful song, check out the Jayhawks.