Dave Alvin and a Few Guilty Women with Samantha Crain, Sara Watkins, and Tyler Ramsey

The Blasters broke around L.A. just about 30 years ago. Dave and Phil Alvin, with Bill Bateman and John Bazz, somehow combined the precision and prestige of California rockabilly, honky-tonk, and blues with the insistent energy of punk. They made the sound by which we would soon judge all bar bands. Since then Dave Alvin has continued to explore California’s musical landscape, often making terrifically quiet and thought-provoking music in comparison. There are worlds between, say, “Marie, Marie,” on the Blasters’ 1980 debut American Music, and the inward-looking “River Under the Road,” from the just-released Dave Alvin and the Guilty Women. In one flip at the record store, Alvin goes from 24 to 53. (Chris Barrett)