TODAY’S READING ASSIGNMENT: The AP has disseminated a fascinating piece about the present unsettled state of The Civil Wars, whose eagerly awaited self-titled second album arrives Aug. 6 on sensibility/Columbia. According to Joy Williams, it all comes down to this: "If you want to know what happened to the band, listen to the album." We can’t wait to do just that. And as our own Bud Scoppa says about the lead single, “The One That Got Away,” in his soundtrack of the last six months, Williams and John Paul White “were only beginning to plumb their emotional depths on Barton Hollow. Whoa—intense doesn’t begin to describe this song and performance.” (7/8a)