I'm only seeing one even vaguely promising new record this week, and I'm skeptical of that. Seventy-nine year old Charlie Louvin has his first album in 10 years. His prime time was the '40s and '50s, with his late brother Ira. The only new song in this batch is a tribute to "Ira." On the other hand, he's got some groovy singing partners here, including Elvis Costello and Tom T. Hall.

This includes a new recording of "The Great Atomic Power." The Amazon reviewer described "bursts of guitar feedback" on this as "absurd." I'd be interested in judging that for myself, however, as this has long been my favorite Louvin Brothers song - and one of the truly scariest country songs ever to me. It's not that it's about nuclear war, but that you can hear the conviction — quite reasonable for a believing Christian — that "God will surely save his children from this awful, awful fate" by calling the rapture and bringing the believers home when the bombs start flying.

Past that, the next most interesting thing for this batch would be to make fun of an Andy Dick standup comedy album, but I'm not going to. They're going to have to come up with more interesting records than this sub-K-Fed talent to even merit the effort of mockery.

Here's the complete list of this week's major new album releases, courtesy AMG:

The High Llamas Can Cladders Drag City
Indie Pop, Chamber Pop, Alternative Pop/Rock

Jesu Conqueror Hydra Head
Doom Metal, Post-Rock/Experimental, Heavy Metal

Trans Am Sex ChangeThrill Jockey
Experimental Rock, Indie Rock, Post-Rock/Experimental

Aqueduct Or Give Me Death Barsuk
Indie Pop, Indie Rock, Indie Electronic

Arab Strap Ten Years of Tears Chemikal Underground
Slowcore, Indie Rock, Sadcore

The Ataris Welcome the Night Sanctuary
Alternative Pop/Rock, Emo

BBC Symphony Chorus Judith Bingham: The Secret Garden; Salt in the Blood; First Light Naxos
Contemporary Choral Music

Will Bernard Party Hats Palmetto
Jazz-Funk, Contemporary Jazz, Soul-Jazz

Bob & Gene If This World Were Mine... Daptone
Soul

Toni Braxton Essential Toni Braxton LaFace/Legacy
Adult Contemporary, Urban, Contemporary R&B, Club/Dance

Jaki Byard Sunshine of My Soul: Live at the Keystone Korner Highnote
Post-Bop, Classic Jazz, Stride, Hard Bop, Swing, Bop

Comeback Kid Broadcasting... Victory
Hardcore Punk

Bobby Conn King for a Day Thrill Jockey
Indie Rock, Post-Rock/Experimental, Singer/Songwriter

Jack Cooke Sittin' on Top of the World Pinecastle
Traditional Bluegrass

Michel Corboz Voices of the Soul Virgin
Sacred Choral Music

Jill Cunniff City Beach The Militia Group
Adult Alternative Pop/Rock, Dance-Pop, Indie Pop