03.11.06 The Nashville Rage STEPHEN SIMMONS | Drink Ring Jesus (Locke Creek) He may look like Jay Farrar and draw comparisons to Steve Earle, but Nashville's Stephen Simmons proved on his 2004 debut, Last Call, that he was capable of carving out his own rough-hewn sound from the foundation that Earle and other Americana icons have laid down. Simmons now follows up Last Call with Drink Ring Jesus, an all-acoustic affair that centers almost exclusively around the theme of redemption. It's not exactly a religious album in the CCM sense, but there's no question where Simmons' characters pull their faith from. Drunks, loners and other lost souls seek and find solace in most of these songs, but usually in unconventional ways. The presentation is as stark and serious as you'd expect from Simmons' notoriously grumpy doppleganger, Farrar. But the world-weary sorts Simmons sings about should find the kind of hope he offers up easier to swallow than a sermon.