Robert 'Hacker' Jessett could probably write songs of any genre he'd choose to yet the eclectic qualities of his band can be a double-edged sword. Their 4th studio album is, however, far less showy than its predecessors and all the better for that.
The Hawkline Discotheque goes off at a bit of tangent for a blast of 70s-style disco but otherwise the focus is firmly set on establishing a twangy 'Urban Country' mood albeit with a distinctive British flavour.
The Anglocentric bias is apparent on First Night which takes the point of view of an 'innocent' middle aged father languishing in a prison cell; a song written in the wake of the 2011 London riots.
Anne Gilpin takes centre stage for several songs and, when she does so, imparts a stagey emotional vulnerability. This is particularly effective on A Tear For Every Year and when she sings Everything Will Be OK, it is as she is trying to convince herself of the truth of this sentiment.
Kawasaki Drifter owes much to Eels and highlights how much Jessett's sardonic songs have in common with those of Mark Oliver Everett.
Other associations spring to mind in Old Love Letters which is like a mash-up of a wistful Cowboy Junkies ballad and the widescreen vision of Calexico's Ballad Of Cable Hogue.
Loneliness and heartbreak are recurring themes but for all the serious undertones, there's always a sense that Jessett and Gilpin are singing with their tongues in their cheeks. The b-movie spoof video for Chinatown confirms this impression.
You also detect heavy irony in the closing duet, Everything Is Going Our Way, a drowsy road song ("we've got a quarter tank of diesel and we're ready to roll") which ends with a burst of laughter as if the couple have lost the will to keep a straight face.
I've no idea why the cover is an old blurred shot of HRH. Perhaps Jessett was afraid of losing his British identity through this full immersion in Americana. If so, he needn't have worried. This UK-style country music is so far away from the Nashville variety that it might just as well have been beamed from another planet as from another country.
