For their 12th studio album, the long-running Twin Cities alt-country favorites tapped landmark producer Bob Ezrin (Lou Reed, Pink Floyd), who also produced 2000’s Smile. In trademark Jayhawk fashion, Sanctuary Park is full of richly rendered narratives and compelling characters, accented by the vocal harmonies and tight rhythm section that populate their catalog. “Keeping Our Heads Above Water” is heartland rock at its best, with a propulsive beat and emphasis on melody. Songs like “American Midnight” and “Familiar Strangers” serve as commentary on turbulent times, with Gary Louris sounding especially impassioned. The beating heart of Sanctuary Park is “Mr. Lincoln,” an imagined account of a Ford’s Theatre musician who witnessed the assassination of the 16th president that connects the dots to present-day grief over the troubling state of the country.