Twangfest: Hayes Carll

His first major-label disc, Trouble in Mind, is all over the map — there's even a Tom Waits cover — but give him a chance and Hayes Carll will grow on you like a three-day-old beard. Though the Houston native's truck-stop drawl might lull you into thinking otherwise, drill down a ways and Carll's country-fried tunes betray their depth. "Girl Downtown" is John Prine in a cowboy hat, "Beaumont" is a love song to match any that ever came out of Lubbock and "Knocking Over Whiskeys" beats the hell out of crying in your beer.