Michael Hurley makes peculiar but utterly charming folk music, with mandolins that sound like the latest funk instrumentation and melodies that spin and whirl and turn in on themselves. His compositions are both pretty and eccentric (often at the same time), and he's a whiz at Hank Williams-style honky-tonk tunes for children. Hurley can also turn apparently simple statements – e.g., "I think I'll move" – into complex philosophical phrases that won't stop reverberating and seem to demand the utmost consideration. Get snocked and listen to him. (RS 338)

KEN TUCKER