Ray LaMontagne's new album 'Gossip In The Grain'

Sometimes you just need a little soul in your life. Ray LaMontagne's new studio album, "Gossip in the Grain," released Tuesday will give that soul back to you, just in case you lost it.

School stresses me out. Work starts the second I leave class. I need to groove it on down in order to keep my cool.

The album begins with a bang. This is a side of Ray I've never heard before. This is Motown. This is less folk, more funk. And I like it.

Horns dart back and forth in my eardrums and I can't help but make my shoulders sway along with them. And then it happens. The magic comes. LaMontagne's soulful voice serenades me, telling me, "Babayyyyyyyyyyy... it's been a long day, babayyyy.."

Oh, Ray, it has been a long day...

This album, as I move from track to track, feels so different from the two other studio albums that brought me closer to this Maine man.

"Trouble," LaMontagne's 2004 debut album featuring the heartbreaking and unforgettable "All the Wild Horses," the song that brings me to tears even if I'm having a good day, feels so foreign when compared to what I heard at my own personal listening party.

"Let It Be Me" feels like home, and feels familiar - except it's different.

"I Still Care For You" begins with this sliding guitar strings similar to the intro to every Mazzy Star track I fell in love with. He matches her flowing soft lyrics and reverb. If I ever fall in love again, it will be to this song.

"Hey Me, Hey Mama" makes me miss the extended family in Missouri. The Banjo, the group of yokels chanting in the background, the roughness of LaMontagne's drawl, it all makes me feel at home.

LaMontagne wraps up his present with the the fleeting seconds of the title track, "Gossip In The Grain," leaving me wondering when I'll hear more...

And then iTunes took it upon itself to start it all over... and the horns dart back and forth in my eardrums.