Have Mercy (2007)

In the three years since their last album, a disastrous collaboration with high-gloss producers the Matrix (Avril Lavigne), the garage rockers have split from one label (Columbia) and weathered the dissolution of another (V2). But frontman Sammy James Jr. is staying positive on Have Mercy. ''Babe, I might be down, but I ain't out,'' he says on ''Down but Not Out.'' Sure enough, Mercy's rootsy, rueful tunes have a pleasant, low-key feel — out of character for The Mooney Suzuki, but an auspicious sign for their future. B DOWNLOAD THIS: Leap of Faith