Compare We're an American Band

Close to ten years after they last went into the studio (and nearly 30 after they cut their first album), are remarkably still intact (the core trio of , , and are all still onboard) and if the band's attack isn't as aggressive as it once was, reveals they're as smart and adventurous as they've ever been. Guitarist 's endless waves of guitar sonics, occupying a middle ground between assault and texture and fragmentation, are still very much the star of this show, and his layers of lovely noise swell and shift throughout these 13 songs, often leaving the melodic backbone to the other instruments but always setting the tone for each tune. 's dry, semi-ironic vocals sometime suggest that is fronting the band, but the deadpan humor of his lyrics makes them all the more effective on songs such as the love-song parody and a tribute to some remarkable parental siblings. And while often subtly (and in the case of not so subtly) deals with the travails of American life during the administration, there's enough dark wit and imagination in these songs to prevent the commentary from becoming strident, and the ebb and flow of the music, with accents easing in and out of the banks of guitar, is compelling no matter what has to say. Rich, witty, adventurous, and satisfying, is a thoroughly contemporary album from a band still walking along the edges in their fourth decade of making music. ~ Mark Deming