Kevin Bronson on February 7th, 2011

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Songwriter Andrew Carroll’s previous band You Me & Iowa never got the respect it deserved – but to hear his new music, that’s the least of the world’s problems. Carroll, with former YM&I bandmate Ryan Ross, guitarist Andrew Schneider, singer/keyboardist Jennifer Talesfore and drummer Edward Cerecedes, are now doing business as the Lonely Wild. Later this month, the quintet unveils its first EP, “Dead End,” which in five songs of aching Americana takes on politics, poverty and social malaise. While showing Carroll has lost none of his pop chops, “Dead End” (recorded by the band with local producer David Newton) veers toward aching Americana, and even into Spaghetti Western pop with “Right Side of the Road” and “Poor Fools.” The gentle shuffle of the title track, to be sure, will stay with you long after you’ve cried in your beer.

||| Download: “Poor Fools”

||| Also: Visit the Lonely Wild on Bandcamp to get two more tracks (e-mail required). And check out/download the cover of “Personal Jesus” the band recorded last year.

||| Live: The Lonely Wild plays its EP release show Feb. 24 at the Bootleg Theater, with Halsted opening.