Sluice’s Companion is the latest addition to the nü-alt-country pile, and depending on your point of view it’s either “more of the same” (complimentary!) or “more of the same” (derrogatory!). Hailing from the extremely fertile North Carolina music scene, Sluice is masterminded by the singer-songwriter Justin Morris, whose easy way with a pop culture lyrical reference (The Wire, Pavement’s “Cut Your Hair,” Zeppelin and Wilco, even Pitchfork) puts him firmly in the Lenderman/Wednesday lineage, while his backing band has serious crossover with Aaron Dowdy’s similar project Fust.