For two decades, Rose's Pawn Shop has been developing its own version of modern American roots music. It's an anthemic sound that has taken the band from their hometown of Los Angeles — where frontman Paul Givant started the band as a bluegrass-inspired group with room for punky tempos and fiddle solos — to stages around the world, where the soundscape has grown to encompass the sweep of rock & roll, the sound of folk, and the storytelling of country.

With American Seams , the band's fifth studio album, Rose's Pawn Shop celebrates this broad spectrum of expression. Recorded over a series of live studio sessions, it's a raw and reflective album about entering a new phase of life, and looking back at the lessons and mistakes made along the way. For Paul Givant — a seasoned songwriter who's been through all the twists and turns of the music industry, and who has steadfastly stuck to a project that's been praised by Rolling Stone (who called their music "a blast of 21st century pickin'-party music") and GQ (who praised their "knee-slapping bluegrass-y twang") — it's also a chance to look back while moving forward.

“I can see all the water flowing under the bridge now,” he says. “There’s a lot that’s both beautiful and difficult to look back on, but it’s all led me here.”

When Rose's Pawn Shop last went into the studio, they created Punch-Drunk Life , an album that not only reinvigorated the band, but also propelled their music in the direction of indie-folk-country. For a group of Southern Californian tour-weary musicians who had already played from fishing villages in Alaska to mountain towns in the Southwest, Punch-Drunk Life felt like a new destination.

American Seams , on the other hand, feels both fresh and familiar, marking a full circle back to the folky, stripped-down sounds that launched the band in the early 2000s.

“It’s a bit like a throwback to our early records,” explains Givant. “We’re going back to our roots of folk, bluegrass and country, without forgetting the rock inspiration. It’s a fusion of all the places we’ve been, and it sounds like our live shows. It’s raw. It’s real.”

It's real. Produced by Grammy nominee Eric Corne, American Seams was recorded in four days at Love Street Sound, the LA studio of Robby Krieger of The Doors.

"It was important to me that the musicians played together in real time, so we could capture their performances simultaneously," says Corne. "I really wanted to showcase the chemistry and togetherness of Rose's Pawn Shop as a fantastic live band. Even when we added extra instruments, I never wanted any of the band members to get lost in the mix."

Featuring contributions from guitarist Zachary Ross, double bassist Stephen Andrews (Givant's longtime bandmate and partner in the side project The Contraptionists), fiddler Jesse Olema, and two different drummers — Grammy winner Deacon Marrquin and the hard-hitting, groove-heavy Matt Lesser — American Seams is a snapshot of a band in peak form, sharpened by an intense touring life.

"A lot of elements in American Seams hark back to the earlier Rose's Pawn Shop, but we still found new ground to explore," says Andrews, who joined in 2009. "During the preparations, it was obvious that we were picking up some of the '70s blues/country vibes on tracks like 'Darken My Door' and 'That Ain't No Way To Get You Off My Mind', and letting in new instruments, like baritone guitar and electric bass."

With its nostalgic fiddle riffs and electrifying drive, the album's title track bridges the band's past and present. "The fiddle line sounds like something you might have heard in the 19th century, and the rest of the song is built around it," says Givant. "It's a nod to old America, but it's about the present — about what we've lost, what we've forgotten, and where we stand today."

The highlights are many. On "The Summer's Over," the band layers voices in the chorus, with lyrics about time passing and a past life slipping away. "What If We Run" is a cinematic folk song with soaring verses and a driving chorus. The rest of the album crosses the boundaries between genres and generations, coloring the gray areas, and shaping soundscapes that weave together different expressions.

"Our music is a patchwork of American styles," says Givant. "We have country, rock, bluegrass, and folk — all kinds of American influences, and it all goes into the Rose's Pawn Shop sound. We liked that image, so we called the record American Seams."

It's been 20 years since Rose's Pawn Shop played their first concert, and a lot has changed since then. Trends have shifted. Band members have come and gone. Familiars have been established. Side projects have seen the light of day. Still, Rose's Pawn Shop continues to move forward — evolving both their art and their audience with each release, creating a soundtrack to the currents of American life. This is robust roots music, anchored in sharp songs and hard-won experiences from a band committed to the long haul.