Today is a big day for alt-country/Americana/twang-rock, with a new album by one of the big kahunas and another by one of the hot new contenders:

Drive-by Truckers' "Go-Go Boots." The Truckers have gone soft on us, and I personally love it. The band's ninth album is surprisingly devoid of loud guitars and hemi-revving rhythms. They've been replaced by heavy amounts of acoustic guitar work (pretty terrific work at that) and a lot of soulful organ parts from organist/pianist Jay Gonzalez. Even the track called "A—holes" – the title of which promises to be another barn-burning Patterson Hood rocker – is instead one of his mellowest, and one of the album's best. The rest of the formula is pretty much trademark Truckers, with Hood doing the lion's share of the writing but not without stiff competition from Mike Cooley (his best is the straight-up country gem "the Weakest Man"), plus another lovely contribution from bassist Shonna Tucker, "Dancin' Ricky." As promised at the band's last First Ave gig, the album includes two songs by late Muscle Shoals legend/character Eddie Hinton, "Everybody Needs Love" and "Where's Eddie," which fit in perfectly here, another strong and cohesive DBT album despite the change-ups and disparate pieces.

Hayes Carll's "KMAG YOYO." Nothing here lives up to "She Left Me for Jesus" and "Drunken Poet's Dream," the fun but brilliant songs that made this Houston-area yahoo my favorite new country-rock songwriter when Lost Highway issued his 2008 album "Trouble in Mind." The follow-up, however – named after military slang (Kiss My A—Guys, You're On Your Own) – has several song tunes that shows this guy can toe the line between serious and hilarious as capably as John Prine. Among them are the heart-tugging country ballad "Chances Are" and the solemn "Grateful for Christmas." Some of the rowdier numbers will nonetheless be a hoot to hear live at the Varsity Theater on April 5, especially the title track and "Bottle in My Hand."

You can hear a more thorough dissection of Carll's record on tonight's episode of "Musicheads" on the Current 89.3 FM, airing at 10 p.m. with host Bill DeVille and guests David Campbell and yours truly. We're also reviewing the new Adele record (out next Tuesday) and the latest by buzzing Australian synth-pop band Cut Copy.