Joe Henry Delivers Solemn Intensity

In the smoky folk-flavored rock of Joe Henry, pacing counts more than volume, and emotion drifts out at a steady, alluring pace. It’s a sound ready-made for the intimate Troubadour, where Henry appeared Thursday to perform his music of moody intensity.

The Los Angeles-based singer-songwriter focused his 90-minute set on the often grim internal monologues of “Trampoline,” his sixth and newest album. So on Thursday, Henry largely replaced his old heartland twang with something stranger and heavier, more akin to early Tom Waits than to the new wave of Americana epitomized by Son Volt and Wilco.

While his band’s heavy guitar jangle kept the energy high, songs were bathed in a soulful organ wash that added a solemn edge. Henry sang in a soft whiskey growl, performing songs that told of the sudden dark twists of life, most notably on “Ohio Air Show Plane Crash.”

Elsewhere, these subversive rhythms would erupt into brief rock guitar flourishes. Not all the songs were able to maintain that spell, sometimes falling into more traditional (and less interesting) arrangements. But sudden bursts of inspiration, like the thumping Crazy Horse rave-up of “Go With God (Topless Shoeshine),” brought things back into the groove.

The opening act, the Scud Mountain Boys, set a similarly melancholy mood, spinning quiet country-flavored rock tunes culled from their new “Massachusetts” album.

Fueled by occasional pedal steel, the band’s sound was often mournful and raw but also given to waves of wistful Americana.