A few weeks ago Ryan Adams & the Cardinals released some new music, a seven song EP called Follow The Lights, which I have been listening to a LOT lately.

A perfect companion to their excellent disc Easy Tiger (released this past summer), Follow The Lights features two brand new songs, a great cover song, and four live studio performances of songs the band has been playing during their recent tour.

The two new songs, “Follow The Lights” and “My Love for You is Real” are ballads, the latter makes a beautiful statement without being too sweet.

My favorite song on the EP (and the one that’s been playing in my brain lately) is a cover of Alice in Chains‘ “Down in a Hole,” a song about despair and self doubt. Adams and the Cardinals take the grunge anthem from the early 1990s and transform it masterfully into their own style.

Down in a hole and they’ve put all the stones in their place.
I’ve eaten the sun so my tongue has been burned of the taste.
I have been guilty of kicking myself in the teeth.
I will speak no more, of my feelings beneath.

Down in a hole, feeling so small,
Down in a hole, losing my soul,
I’d like to fly, but my wings have been so denied.

Other songs on the disc include: “This is It,” a much improved version of the first track from the ill-conceived Rock n Roll; “Blue Hotel,” a song written for Willie Nelson’s Songbird (which Adams produced); and “If I am a Stranger,” which was originally released on Cold Roses.

Wrapping up the EP is “Dear John”, which first appeared as a duet with Norah Jones on Jacksonville City Nights. While the original has a depressive, almost dirge like quality, this version is much brighter, and has better vocal harmonies.

Clocking in at 32 minutes, Follow The Lights feels like a full album, and is a great showcase for the musical skills of Adams and his band mates.