As awful as it is to put a cap on any musician’s career, it honestly seemed as though Ray Lamontagne could not get any better. Not that his talent had stalled in any way; he really was just that good. Then he became Ray Lamontagne & The Pariah Dogs, came out with “God Willin’ and the Creek Don’t Rise,” and proved us wrong.

In “Repo Man,” Ray Lamontagne and the Pariah Dogs do just so by harvesting the old remnants of Lamontagne and adding the kind of soul that only B.B. King was able to bring into today’s musical realm.

No one’s voice is as affecting as Lamontagne’s. In “Are We Really Through” he wraps hoarse vocals around lyrics like “Can you hear me? / Can you see me? / Why is that so hard for you to do? / Don’t dispel me, girl/ Just tell me/ Are we really through?”

“This Love is Over” infects you with chills from the first word that Lamontagne belts. Be careful, though. This song, like so many others on the album will make you forget others are in the room if you close your eyes long enough.

So, to describe Lamontagne’s new project simply: it is an entrancing, John Mayer-like experience that was before considered unreachable.