Throughout "Devil's Waitin'" and "Restless Sinner," Robert Levon Been, Peter Hayes and Nick Jago seem as if they're merely aping the Anthology of American Folk Music rather than developing a distinctive take on rudimentary genres. "Weight of the World," in which they bring to mind three badly drawn boys, is a marked improvement, but imitation still trumps innovation. Fortunately, "Howl," "Sympathetic Noose" and "The Line," an eight-minute heart-wrencher, use throwback styles as influences, not disguises. The results are more promising, because they're more personal.
After all, real Rebels go their own way.