Honesty—to the point of self-abasement—is the keynote to The Tower & The Fool’s debut album, How Long. Vocalist/guitarists Alex Correia and Chris Rosenquest don’t hold anything back as they detail their hopes and frustrations in long, flowing lyric lines that suggest “Mr. Jones”–era Counting Crows. The Providence, R.I.-based sextet flesh out their tunes with a heartland folk-rock sound, punctuated by Chris Capaldi’s supple work on lead and slide guitar. The songs here are packed with sharply drawn scenes of fleeting romantic encounters (“Scoliosis”), post-breakup angst (“Fade Away”), and painful stabs at reconciliation (“My Heart Is Dead in NYC”). Moving beyond boy/girl scenarios, The Tower & The Fool deliver a rousing Springsteen-like anthem in “Dive Bar” and capture American wanderlust in “Broken.” The album’s musically upbeat tracks (reminiscent of The Gin Blossoms) are balanced by more introspective acoustic numbers like “Breach” and the title tune. Throughout, Correia and Rosenquest sing with a serious, earnest edge, culminating in the bitterly confessional “Who Does She Think She Is?”