Steve Gunn’s June release on Matador Records, Eyes on the Line, is a whorl of ‘verbed-out guitars-on-guitars, keys, briskly shuffling drums, and Gunn’s plainspoken poetics. Aside from the audible nods to folk rock forebears like the Dead and Michael Chapman (who guest stars in the music video for EotL’s “Ancient Jules”), Gunn’s ability to synesthetically evoke the freedom of cruising wide-open spaces on the empty highway gives his music an irresistible and timeless familiarity. The record feels like an eager and optimistic response to “the age-old call of a worn-out truck” that he sings about on “Full Moon Tide.” This joy in aimless locomotion is reflected in the buoyant grooviness that propels his songs forward. SAM BOVARNICK