New releases this month from rising stars and seasoned performers point to the continuing strength of the American singer-songwriter tradition. Alongside hip young Brandi Carlile s latest CD are records from Texas troubadour Lyle Lovett and country royalty Rosanne Cash. There s also a new record from hit-makers Train, and the soundtrack to New Moon, which is a veritable survey of current indie rock favorites.

Give Up the Ghost

Viewers of ABC's Grey's Anatomy may have become familiar with singer-songwriter Brandi Carlile over the last few seasons; several of her songs have been featured on that hit series and on its spin-off, Private Practice. But Carlile has been building a fan base since the release of her self-titled debut in 2005. Her songs of love and loss manage to be full of feeling yet not bombastic. The wide-ranging Rick Rubin (who s worked with everyone from Johnny Cash to Metallica) produced Give Up the Ghost and he pays particular attention to Carlile s range, which can go from whispery croon to full-throttle anguish in a heartbeat. Carlile wrote many of the tracks, and her musical collaborators Tim and Phil Hanseroth wrote others. Elton John provides a guest vocal on the frisky Caroline, but the album s sound is really all Carlile s, from the driving opening cut, Looking Out, to the poignant ballad Pride and Joy, in which her singing builds from soft regret to an almost rapturous lament.

Lyle Lovett

Natural Forces

Since his debut record in 1986, Lyle Lovett has released more than a dozen albums, all of them featuring his singular songwriting, which can range from the elegiac Pontiac, to the sinister and humorous L.A. County, to the stomping She s Hot To Go. Lovett studied journalism at Texas A&M, and his songs display the keen observances of a natural reporter open to the quirks, pitfalls and fleeting triumphs of life. In his career, Lovett has worked in swing (with his Large Band) and smaller ensembles, and here he hews more closely to a rock-inflected country-western feel. Natural Forces alternates between the bluegrass twang of Pantry, the contemplative country folk of Whooping Crane and the driving title song, a sardonic look at romance and happiness. As on his previous records, Lovett has written most of the material here, but he also includes a cover of Vince Gill s poignant Sun and Moon and Stars, about the emotional treachery of self-imposed solitude.

The List

Before Rosanne Cash moved into her recent introspective mode, she was one of the biggest names in country music in the 1980s, with a string of number-one hits. Now, she returns in force to her country, or Americana, roots with The List a 12-track compilation plucked from the 100 songs Cash s late father, Johnny Cash, considered country s best. Songwriters here include Merle Haggard, Bob Dylan, Buck Owens and Hank Williams among others. Cash enlisted backup vocals on selected tracks from the likes of Bruce Springsteen, Elvis Costello, Rufus Wainwright and Jeff Tweedy (of Wilco), who bring a nice texture to the vocals, though Cash s rich alto needs little accompaniment. Among the stronger cuts are Miss the Mississippi and You, Dylan s Girl from the North Country and Buck Owens's "Heartaches by the Number. If Cash doesn t quite make a listener forget Patsy Cline s rendition of She s Got You, she still brings her own quiet remorse to the ballad.

Various Artists

Twilight: New Moon Soundtrack

Last year s hit vampire flick, Twilight, spawned an album featuring hot musical acts and became one of 2008 s best sellers. In this soundtrack, for the coming sequel, New Moon, the producers smartly cast a wider net in their choice of music. The songs here will appeal to both the young female fans who devour the vampire novels that inspired the films, and reel in other listeners, too. The cuts are not available on other albums and include the most noted independent music acts around: Thom Yorke (of Radiohead), Death Cab for Cutie, the Killers and Black Rebel Motorcycle Club. So, even if a wide swath of music fans might not see the movie, which opens here on November 20, they ll probably still appreciate its music. This collection is more reserved than the first. But the songs are good throughout, including the catchy opening track from Death Cab for Cutie ( Meet Me On the Equinox ) and the moody electronica of Thom Yorke s Hearing Damage.

Train

Save Me, San Francisco

Train s music has a certain elusive quality in that you probably recognize many of its hits songs (such as Calling all Angels or Cab ) but can t quite place the group performing them. There s kind of an everyman quality to its output, which makes Train s music a bit hard to categorize. The Grammy Award-winning group s music is a combination of tuneful pop with guitar-driven rock that might evoke, to older ears, the sounds of Journey or even, to slightly younger ones, the Jayhawks. Not that there s anything wrong with that. Train s new album, following lead singer Pat Monahan s solo album, Last of Seven, is catchy from the outset, from the title first track, to the single Hey Soul Sister and to ballads such as Parachute. Expect to hear these and other melodious songs on soundtracks, television series and jukeboxes in the coming months even if you can t quite remember the name of the group whose music you re enjoying.