For one of the music world’s most prolific and talented songwriters, it seems like an eternity since we last heard from Adams. And III/IV does much to satisfy that withdrawal, in addition to reminding us what draws us to Adams’ music in the first place. Much of the material that appears on the new album was recorded during the making of Adams & the Cardinals Easy Tiger record. And the 20 plus song collection explores a variety of genres, once again lending credit to the flexibility of the Cardinals and Adams as a songwriter. It’s hard to imagine some of these songs never made it onto an album prior to this. III/IV even boosts a super-star collaboration on the duet “Typecast”, where Adams shares the mic with Norah Jones.

When thinking of Ryan’s work with the Cardinals, it’s easy to think of some of the more alt-country leaning albums they’ve made. Surprisingly III/IV, while varied, leans to much more of a rock edge. Packed with hard-rocking, concise rockers like “Lovely And Blue” and “Breakdown into the Resolve”, quite simply these songs don’t disappoint.