New West

When the U.S. Postal Service gets around to a Heroes of Americana stamp set, you can guarantee that both Buddy Miller and Jim Lauderdale will be among those honored. Both have been shaping the genre for a good couple of decades and their own friendship goes back longer than that; they even co-host a SiriusXM radio program. So it’s crazy that it took this long for them to make a record together but Buddy & Jim was worth waiting for. Harmonizing closely in Everlys/Louvins style and otherwise alternating on lead vocals, the pair runs through 11 country/rockabilly/honky-tonk tunes that touch down on song topics both familiar ( “The Train that Carried My Girl from Town,” “Down South in New Orleans” ) and quirky ( “Vampire Girl” ), all of which are tightly composed and expertly performed.