Here Comes The New Folk Underground
Following his move from Los Angeles to Austin, Texas (and to the  alternative country Lost Highway label), acerbic singer-songwriter David  Baerwald's third solo album sounds like a fresh start. It's been nine years  since his previous release, but Baerwald's songwriting is as intelligent, edgy,  and conceptually ambitious as ever. From the country harmonies and back-porch  picking of "Why" through the brassy buoyancy of "Nothing's Gonna Bring Me Down,"  Baerwald tempers his smart-aleck tendencies with greater melodic warmth and  lyrical clarity. Both "If (a Boy Whore in a Man's Jail)" and the unlisted bonus  track "Little Fat Cowboy" evoke the influence ofRandy Newman, while the  lacerating "Love #29" and the funky underpinnings of "Bozo Weirdo Wacko Creep"  suggest that the album's title is a tongue-in-cheek band name rather than a  musical mission statement. Though Baerwald remains best known for his audacious  debut as half of David & David on 1986'sBoomtownand as a  catalyst for Sheryl Crow'sTuesday Night Music Club,  he's never made music that is richer or more consistently satisfying than this.--Don McLeese