Georgia troubadour Corey Smith's sing-along-friendly, rock-tinged country songs come in two styles: bawdy, booze-fueled anthems about getting back-road lovin' in the front seat or pissing off the police, and bona fide barroom ballads about changing the world or crying angels. Commercial, but with a touch of sincerity, his middling, middle-of-the-road catalog is perfectly dichotomous party music for coeds looking to start celebrating the weekend a little early. Pearl-buttoned Raleigh rockers American Aquarium open with louder, rowdier tunes that skip the sappiness for a double shot of whiskey-soaked nostalgia. —Spencer Griffith