DAVID SLEIGH & SLOW FENCES Charlotte artist David Sleigh’s third and latest record was mixed by Wavelab studio wiz Craig Schumacher, the Tucson, New Mexico, native who has recorded, among others, Calexico and Giant Sand. Indeed, Sleigh’s Wearing Out the Spring bears Schumacher’s airy stamp, giving the twangy arrangements room to breathe. The album’s 13 songs also seem more fully thought through, compared to Sleigh’s first two self-recorded LPs, and range in style from folky shuffles and near-jazzy instrumentals to Neil Young & Crazy Horse-style jams, the twang of Wilco’s A.M.-era sound and Southwestern-flavored noir. Sleigh’s been in and out of a host of local and regional acts (Sunshone Still, the Virginia Reel, the Loudermilks), but this is his first time out with his full band. His gruff vocals sound like 100 miles of pitted gravel road, but it suits these earthy songs well.

John Schacht

Price: $5