On their seventh album, the Cowboy Junkies hitch their pony to producer John Leckie (Radiohead, Verve) and inch closer toward the mainstream. As a result, Miles from Our Home's title track might be the group's most upbeat and infectious song ever. Unfortunately, it also means Miles is frequently too pretty and pleasant for its own good. Think more Sarah McLachlan, less Velvet Underground. Still, gloom reigns supreme. The atmospheric "Blue Guitar" and, presumably, the slow, shattered "At the End of the Rainbow" (a hidden track) mourn the late singer/songwriter and Junkie hero Townes Van Zandt. "Those Final Feet," a lilting, Band-like tune, marks the passing of the 94-year-old grandfather of the Timmins siblings, who comprise three fourths of the band. Translated through Margo Timmins's endlessly haunting vocals, such sentiments keep the Cowboy Junkies' cloudy mystique alive. --Neal Weiss