Robbie Fulks: Couples In Trouble

By now, nearly everyone who cares about such matters knows Robbie Fulks' style: witty, mean, and unmistakably old-school country. On South Mouth and Country Love Songs, Fulks tapped a seemingly inexhaustible vein of acidic honky-tonk, sounding like he was born to perform a type of country music with which no one else seemed to bother anymore. At this point, he could probably write a Robbie Fulks song standing on his head. (In the Mad Libs-style improvisational sections of his live shows, he practically does.) But the self-produced, self-released Couples In Trouble defies those expectations with considerable success. Where Fulks' last full album of new material, Let's Kill Saturday Night, suggested an unhappy compromise grafting together his old style, his newfound songwriterly ambition, and the sonic expectations of a major label, Couples mostly suggests that he's doing exactly as he pleases. Thematically unified and stylistically diverse, Couples borrows from a wide musical palette to relate stories of love both doomed and dangerous. "In Bristol Town One Bright Day" opens the album on a country note, but in a style Harry Smith might have recognized: spare, mournful, traditional folk. The next track, "Anything For Love," opens with a tinny drum machine and threatens to descend into distortion, serving fair notice that anything is fair game on this collection of dark narratives. Living up to its title even on the innocent-sounding tale of youthful heartbreak "Mad At A Girl," Couples In Trouble gets at some pretty dark places, but it's never darker than on "Brenda's New Stepfather." On that pounding, Randy Newman-esque family tale, Fulks assumes the voice of the title character, who offers none-too-veiled promises of a "soft turning at your latch." Filled with catchy melodies (of whatever style he chooses), memorable turns of phrase, and weird interludes, Couples is by turns exciting and frustrating, but never predictable. Fulks clearly wishes to redefine what a Robbie Fulks album means, and smart listeners would do well to go along for the ride. (www.robbiefulks.com)