On their second album as The Pleasures, country veteran Catherine Britt and The Wildes leader Lachlan Bryan relish abruptly switching gear (and pace) from track to track. That means the weepy ballad “Step Away” is followed immediately by the rollicking rock of “Wild Things”—complete with both swagger and swearing—and the roadhouse blues of “This Might Hurt a Little Bit” drops away to accommodate the wispy slow-burn “The Rules.” Just as enjoyable as those sudden swings is the duo’s darkly cheeky humor, which fuels “Love Relapse” as well as the taunting duet “Was It Something I Said?” Musically, the latter tips its hat to the Tom Petty classic “Refugee” while showcasing splashes of Hammond organ and the rhythm section of Britt’s husband Brad Bergen on drums and Bryan’s Wildes bandmate Damian Cafarella on bass. After having mischievous fun with the lineage of country music on their 2023 debut The Beginning of the End, here The Pleasures remind us that they’re equally capable of punctuating their studied songbook with tousled, rootsy rock. And once you lock onto the lyrics, you can always expect a stinger just around the corner.