The Wallflowers come out bare-boned and uninhibited with their latest record, “Breach,” where the soulful ballads and bluesy classic guitar are both finger tapping and beautifully refined.

Undoubtedly, “Bringing Down the Horse,” the Wallflowers? second release, provided memorable numbers such as “6th Avenue Heartache” and “One Headlight,”but “Breach” tips the scales because it is so genuinely heartfelt, so complete. Jakob Dylan delivers even more touching and fervent lyrics, the kind that make you appreciate him for his intelligence and sensitivity, not just for his stirring voice and genetic makeup.

Without distorting their style, “Breach” proves Dylan?s songwriting and The Wallflowers? music have come a long way in four years with songs like “Sleepwalker” and “I?ve Been Delivered,” where Dylan sings, “Now I?m ten miles/In the deep/And the mighty blue sea/Looking back towards a long white beach/Burning up into yellow flames/And I just wave back/Like a little boy up on a pony.” One of my favorite tracks is the simple yet beautiful tune, “Mourning Train.”

In “Breach,” the influence of Jakob?s father is evident. “Up From Under,” an acoustic ballad, has the feel of a youngBob Dylan, and “Hand Me Down” is a song about being the son of a musical legend. The young Dylan sings, “You won?t ever amount to much/You won?t be anyone/Now tell me what you were thinking of/How could you think you would be enough.” Included as a bonus track is “Babybird.” Much like “Forever Young,” the song Bob Dylan wrote when Jakob was born, “Babybird” is a song Jakob wrote for his children.

“Breach” seems to be a quasi-diary of Jakob?s life on the road. Included in most of his lyrics are the frustrations of coming to terms with the harsh entertainment industry. This especially rings true in “Letters From the Wasteland” and “Witness,” where Dylan sings, “Happy Birthday/No one cares.”

With background vocals featuring Frank Black, Elvis Costello, Chris Penn and Michael Penn, “Breach” has rich sound and depth and is sure to please old fans as well as create new ones. The only downfall to the record is that it ends too soon.