On their first album together since 1995's Tomorrow the Green Grass, Jayhawks founders Gary Louris and Mark Olson sound like two old friends getting together to shoot the shit and play some music. Mockingbird Time is laid-back, straightforward ... and kind of boring. Louris has kept the Jayhawks alive with rotating personnel over the years (their last album, Rainy Day Music, came out in 2003) and recorded a stripped-down duo album with Olson in 2008, but this reunion record is mostly uninspired, even with other original members onboard. Yes, it's nice to hear Louris and Olson harmonizing again on "Hide Your Colors" and "Closer to Your Side," but those heavenly voices are on top of songs that rarely twinkle like the classics they made in the '90s. — Michael Gallucci
