Phantom Limb, this year's debut LP from the accidental Midwest duo known as Water Liars, is a slingshot of Americana audacity. Moving from gently ruminative drifts to surging electric phosphorescence, from staggeringly sad waltzes to jangling pop buoyancy, Phantom Limb gives the singing of Justin Kinkel-Schuster a bold spotlight. He stands tall, a promising bard lurking in the wings. With Mechanical River and JPHONO1. —Grayson Currin