Country-ish roots rock, but you might like it anyway. The album’s got tight musicianship, clever narrative lyrics, and musical styles that vary from sappy country ballads to edgy bluesy shuffles. It also has the kind of energy that you’d expect from a live performance. Lots of tracks include the kinds of luscious chord changes that seem to suddenly put things in perspective. Applause at the beginning and end of each track. I particularly liked: 1, 7, 9, 12, & 14. No FCC’s.

1. ***Energetically strummed guitar. Twangy, funny vocals about his car, “built by union labor on American soil.”
2. Propulsive drums, sparser vocals about the finality of a break-up.
3. Prominent twangy vocals. Denser orchestration—there’s a Hammond organ in addition to the guitar/bass/drums setup.
4. Shuffling guitar rhythms. Conversational, narrative vocals.
5. *Country power-ballad, with defining guitars chords and stuttered rhythms. Juxtaposes triumphalist music with a story about the waning of good ol’ boy culture.
6. Quiet acoustic guitar, confessional tone, simple melody.
7. ***Charming syncopated vocals, old-timey and catchy. Sweet blues-hall piano line.
8. Typical country ballad sound, with the addition of synthesized-sounding chimes. About a long-haul trucker missing his son. Ends with longish introduction to his band members.
9. ***Slow, sinister sound. Plea to a state trooper not to pull him over.
10. Hammond organ rides again! Rambling lyrics.
11. Bad-ass vocals are intense right from the start. Lots of reverberating slide guitar. Lyrics about temporarily escaping from familial responsibilities.
12. **Harmonica. Lyrics about realizing that home is not where you belong.
13. Spoken intro: “You can either get through life or you can live it. And if you’re gonna live it there’s two things you need: an inquisitive mind and a fearless heart.” An unsentimental love song.
14. **Jivey. Prominent organ. Scatty breakdown near the end. Owes a lot to Chuck Berry or Buddy Holly.
15. Rhythmic organ line. “Won’t you be my San Antonio girl?” (but I won’t take you to New York with me).
16. Hopeful guitar line, baseball-stadium organ. “Mama says a pistol is the devil’s right hand.”
17. Beautiful a capella intro. Vaguely gospel sound.

-Kathryn