ALBUM REVIEW / POP

*** 1/2 Greg Garing, “Alone,” Paladin/Revolution/Warner Bros. “Techno-country” sounds like a gimmick, but Garing is one of a new breed of mavericks cultivating a hybrid of earthy roots music that ticks with the ethereal, spacey soul of ambient high technology. He might also be the best so far.

Tutored at the feet of bluegrass legend Bill Monroe and rockabilly master Roy Duke, the Erie, Pa.-born musician later discovered the beats and loops of Garbage. On “Alone,” he puts it all together to form a ghostly mix of old-school, ‘40s country twang and au courant urban beats that sounds like Hank Williams meets Tricky.

None of which says anything about Garing’s songwriting skills, which are impressive. He obsesses over love, loss and trust and manages to massage new life out of these age-old themes with the open-hearted verve of a poet. Backed by a dreamy yet muscular sound peppered with whistles, frazzled electro-pops, banjo and mandolin, such songs as “How the Road Unwinds” and “My Love Is Real” are both technologically artistic and deeply soulful. A surprising collection of songs thick with mystery and hope.

Albums are rated on a scale of one star (poor), two stars (fair), three stars (good) and four stars (excellent).