Country-tinged folk-pop from a former British angry young man. Like Elvis Costello, Parker has always had a soft spot for country, which he's indulged more and more during the past decade. Lots of acoustic strumming, some light organ and plentry of lyrical fire to let you know Parker's still angry.

His lyrics have never been as sharp as Costello's, often going for the desperation rhyme that ends up being just awkward, but he scores some gems: the cadence of 1 works really well, and 3 and 8 pack some nice rhymes. There's a lot to like here.

1 and 2 come close to Parker's old rock style; 3 and 8 also get there lyrically.

1- A driven midtempo; a hit-single kind of catchy
2- Midtempo and snide, like a slowish rocker.
3- Very twangy country, an amused midtempo bounce. "The Meek inherit the earth from their friends the Scum."
4- Downtrodden, sad. Eight minutes long!
5- Tough-stepping minor key, with a surprisingly bright chorus. I think it's about the Golden Gate Bridge.
6- A cool rolling feel, minor key
7- Quick-footed, lotsa words.
8- Uptempo, mild rockabilly, satirizes politics and stuff in general
9- Mid/fast song of redemption, sounds a bit Dylan-ish
10- Upbeat
11- Country tune, mid/fast and spare. Rolling minor key.
12- A slowish "goodbye" feel.