In Brief

* * * Drivin’ N’ Cryin’, “Wrapped in Sky,” DGC. Stripped down to the rootsy rock that underscored even their hardest-rocking forays, the sixth album from these Georgia veterans brims with music that’s blissfully melodic (never cloying) and often quite fiery. Many tracks are tinged with a rustic twang that makes you wonder what might have become of R.E.M. if it had resisted the lure of power pop to follow a rockier path.

Albums are rated on a scale of one star (poor), two stars (fair), three stars (good) and four stars (e x cellent).