King James Version

The last track--and the album as a whole--is richly canorous. The addition of instruments such as banjo and vibraphone to their standard rock lineup manages to uplift rather than weigh down the mix. Any hints of discord here are saved for the lyrics. In the first verse of the first song, Nelson's already in trouble. The food's great at a lovely brunch with Jesus Christ, "but then he had to go and die for my sins and stick my ass with the check." On other (subtler) songs, music geeks will like the ambivalence and ambiguity of Nelson's freighted lyrics. But they may not appreciate the band's distance from many of their alt-rock contemporaries, who have been experimenting with both the aggro and maudlin borders of the genre. Instead, King James Version, whose mid-tempo flow should create a perfect confluence with the mainstream, speaks the populist language of classic rock & roll--the kind of music you could listen to in the car with your mom. And it's a delight. Amen. --Julie van Arcken