Jeff Bates proudly wears a “Rebel Spirit” t-shirt on the cover of his 2008 self-titled third album where he grows artistically, avoiding the stodgy and generic in favor of a more personalized approach. The singer’s claim to fame is his manly baritone, inviting past comparisons with Conway Twitty. This time, he loosens up and has more fun with his bear-like vocal rumble, as in the rollicking “I Can’t Have Nothing Nice” and the slow-stomping “Some Days.” A maturing perspective informs nostalgic tunes like “Riverbank” and “Chevy Don’t Let Me Down.” “My Wave” and “One Thing” find him meditating on life’s meaning, while “He Wasn’t Like Us” and “Country Man” are plainspoken commentaries about Jesus and patriotism, respectively. All of these themes are familiar ones in country music, but Bates (who co-wrote much of the album) treats them with a measure of freshness. The album’s best moments are the sexy backwoods snapshot “A Country Girl Can” and the pensively romantic “Don’t Hate Me for Loving You.” If not an act of rebellion, Jeff Bates does mark an artistic advance by this substantial country talent.