Individually, and especially as the Flatlanders, Joe Ely, Jimmie Dale Gilmore and Butch Hancock made albums that can leave you pining for Texas and wanting to run away there in pursuit of a better life. In their humility and sweetness, the songs on "Hills and Valleys" are no different, tapping into the myth of Texas and the American West. "I don't need no worldwide web to show me how it's done," Gilmore charmingly sings on his accordion-laced love letter "No Way I'll Never Need You." As usual, the three distinctive voices get equal time on lead vocals, and Hancock's "Thank God for the Road" is probably the album's best track. But of course, the threesome is best when trading verses and flaunting its ample talent on strummy singalongs like "Just About Time."—Wes Orshoski