The Wallflowers' new release "Exit Wounds"

The prodical son returns

It's been almost 10 years since 2012's beat- oriented Glad All Over album - and that one came after a seven-year gap - so it's clear that Wallflowers albums are to be savored as the rarities that they are.

The Butch Walker-produced Exit Wounds features Shelby Lynne on four tracks, so expect a countrified air for much of the proceedings. In fact the bulk of the album radiates melancholic Americana, particularly heartbreakers like Darlin' Hold On and The Daylight Between Us. There are more spirited moments, however, including the perfect West-Coast pop­-rock of lead single Roots and Wings and the raucous rave-up Who's That Man Walkin' Round My Garden. Best of the bunch is the tender roots-rock of Maybe Your Heart's Not In It Anymore, a ballad worthy of the band's salad days.