Robbie Fulks: South Mouth

Robbie Fulks failed miserably as a Nashville songwriter—an episode addressed bluntly by the song "Fuck This Town"—but the mainstream country-music industry's loss is the rest of the world's gain. More immediately evoking the sound of classic country than anything now coming out of Nashville (or Chicago, for that matter), Fulks confirms on his second album what last year's Country Love Songs strongly suggested: that he's a first-rate songwriter, and a sharp player and singer to boot. Able to turn a wicked phrase as skillfully as Elvis Costello at his best—a talent evident in titles such as "Forgotten But Not Gone" and "Goodbye, Good-Lookin'"—Fulks brings a dark sensibility to a traditional-sounding country setting. Though uproariously clever numbers like "I Told Her Lies" and "Dirty-Mouthed Flo" easily lodge themselves in the brain's endless-repeat loop, songs such as "I Push Right Over" nicely display the more delicate aspects of Fulks' craft. Anyone doubting the importance or continued vitality of country music should give this disc a listen or shut up.