New Madrid show what might happen when a band forms in Athens, Ga. Three-quarters of the group come from Nashville and Chattanooga, Tenn., but the group's identity is purely a lyrical, mystical sound that doesn’t necessarily sound like Athens heroes R.E.M. (the laid-back “Dead Legs” takes that influence and filters it through New Madrid's interest in My Morning Jacket). The sounds here are informed by the hundreds of musical ghosts that have discovered the common ground between '80s college rock and that Southern thing that Drive-By Truckers’ Patterson Hood has tried to explain. Sunswimmer is a hypnotic, beautiful record. Produced by veteran David Barbe (who has illuminated the best of Drive-By Truckers and played bass for Bob Mould’s Sugar), the album features five standard-sized songs that bring forth a comforting, forlorn sound that’s harmonious yet lonesome. Then the album’s “side two” is split between two longer tracks, each more than 10 minutes; this lets the group stretch out but hardly self-indulge.