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I Like to Keep Myself in Pain

Kelly Hogan’s awesome “country with attitude” style puts her in the same category with a handful of singer-songwriters, particularly Shelby Lynne and Neko Case. Hogan’s new CD, I Like to Keep Myself in Pain has a few tracks that sound traditionally country in the best way—like the title track, for instance. That said, songs such as “Haunted” have also been injected with a big dose of rock, too—which is no surprise to those who’ve admired the singer’s work with the Drive-By Truckers. A personal favorite is the album’s first single, “We Can’t Have Nice Things,” an end-of-love ballad with a rough edge that sounds like the sort of sad, angry shuffle we’d all play over and over after a breakup. www.kellyhogan.com.