Though he's best known as the singer for country-rockers the Mavericks, Raul Malo has made a name for himself as a solo artist who owes little if anything to previous associations. With rich, near-operatic vocal chops that bring to mind Roy Orbison, Malo is equally adept at tackling country, pop, and rock, but AFTER HOURS finds him looking back towards classic country sounds. He tackles everything from Roger Miller's "Husbands and Wives" to Hank Williams's "Cold Cold Heart," and the drama inherent in his singing style invests a deep level of emotion into each tune. Much as Glen Campbell did in the '60s and '70s, Malo uses his interpretive abilities to blur the lines between country and other genres, establishing his own singular paradigm in the process.