Jon Langford

Painter, punk rocker, and Alt Country godfather Jon Langford enlists Canadian y'allternative band the Sadies for his second solo disc, which mixes righteously angry rockers with hung-over ballads. As always, the country music trappings add just the right element of weary wisdom. Start with "Looking Good For Radio."

Right, he's got all those other albums--Pine Valley Cosmonauts, Mekons of course, Waco Brothers. But there he was just the compere, or had to share the writing with his mates. This isn't enough when you have a calling to pursue, a family to support, a world to curse and mourn--when nothing can shut you up. Lyrics that despair of politics, find true pain in true love, unhinge from terra firma, and gripe about the road are delivered with country plainness, glimmers of spirituality, plenty of rolled r's, and the sense that by singing reality you can make it mean something, at least while you're at it. Not "Before they stop me"; more like "As long as I still can." (Grade - A-)