The Cruel Sea has always done things its own way, beginning as a purely instrumental act in 1987 before enlisting ring-in vocalist Tex Perkins (Beasts of Bourbon) a couple of years later. Following a string of platinum-selling albums in the ’90s, the band has spent most of the new millennium in contented hibernation. But after playing live again to celebrate the 30th anniversary of 1993’s The Honeymoon Is Over, The Cruel Sea has reconvened for a first new album in two decades. Perkins says he leaned more into their “balladeering” side this time, rather than their proven rock or funk potential. That doesn’t make Straight into the Sun feel any less special. With acclaimed guitarist-for-hire Matt Walker stepping in for the late James Cruickshank, the band matches Perkins’ smoky, charismatic voice with quiet and delicate instrumentation that still offers up plenty of satisfying details. Tracks like opener “How Far I’d Go” and “Anyway Whatever” underscore the smoldering romance of Perkins’ lyrics with gorgeous slide guitar, while the surf-tinged instrumental “Storm Bird” evokes Santo & Johnny’s timeless “Sleepwalk.” Other tunes could have come straight from the heyday of Stax Records, thanks to the tasty guitar licks that answer Perkins’ lighter and friskier vocal presence on the title track.