Dan Tyminski’s latest Rounder recording, Wheels, features the singing voice of Ulysses Everett McGill exerting his skills as producer, engineer, songwriter, and performer. The result is a dozen listenable tunes that gravitate between nicely produced hooks and popular country pleasance.

In addition to being the aforementioned singing voice of McGill from the movie and soundtrack of O Brother, Where Art Thou?, Tyminski is best known as Allison Krauss’ second hand in her band Union Station. As listeners may suspect, shades of Union Station abound on Wheels, with some tracks missing only Krauss to complete the vibe. Union Station is a great band, and the players Tyminski has assembled are up to the task. The lineup for most of the album is Barry Bales on bass (also a US member), Justin Moses on fiddle and dobro, Adam Steffey on mandolin, and Ron Stewart on banjo.

The record introduces itself with a few easy numbers. The title track’s vocal harmonies and impressive instrumental breaks are about as accessible as contemporary country gets. The namesake track is then followed by the upbeat leaving-your-lover tale “Whose Shoulder Will You Cry On,” which sets the pace for subsequent yarns of heartbreak, abandonment, and loneliness.

Union Station guitarist Ron Block guests on a couple of his own original tunes, which stand out as Wheels‘ strongest tracks, “It All Comes Down To You” and “The One You Lean On.” The minor-key harmonies of the former, coupled with Justin Moses’ dobro and fiddle and Tyminski’s vocals, make an accessible number that could climb the charts. The familiar-feeling melodies of the latter, along with Block’s well-penned progressions, Tyminski’s vocal harmonies, and beautiful mandolin and fiddle breaks solidify Block’s songs as the strongest on Wheels.

Guest appearances elsewhere on Wheels include Vince Gill, who lends his voice to “How Long Is This Train.” More impressive are Sharon and Cheryl White, who contribute wonderfully haunting vocals to “Some Early Morning.”

As aforementioned, failed relationship tales abound on Wheels. “How Many Times,” “Heads You Win Tails I Lose,” and “I Ain’t Taking You Back No More” all smack of the same heartbreak ilk; the unfair relationship, the abandoned man, and the perpetual loser … all make for standard country ballad fare. The band gets to flex its chops on “Knock Knock!,” a quick bluegrass breakdown number featuring some fantastic, insightful pickin’ all around. Notable are the mandolin’s introductory flurry and a formidable fiddle break.

The album closes on the pensive elegy “Some Early Morning.” The song tells the story of a man on a lone bender that unwittingly leads to a wrongful murder conviction. The narrator laments of his years in prison, dreaming of a place he is free, and having to believe he is going to wake up from his life’s nightmare soon.

John Hildreth lives in Giles County, teaches at Radford University, and plays in the contra dance band Dot Dot Dash.