Born Again In The USA is a fitting title for Loose Fur’s second album. The band’s three members – Jeff Tweedy, Glen Kotche, Jim O’Rourke – have teamed up for some of the finest, overwhelmingly American releases of the decade, including Wilco’s Yankee Hotel Foxtrot and A Ghost Is Born and, of course, O’Rourke’s own Insignificance. This album is no different. Though it runs the gamut of musical styles, each track is filled with the earnest emotion and heartfelt exuberance of the American songwriter. Whether it’s the rock & roll guitar riffs of the Tweedy-penned album opener “Hey Chicken” or the soft acoustic finger picking and mellow vocals of O’Rourke’s “Answers To Your Questions,” it becomes instantly clear that these three men have a unique chemistry that time after time results in something very special. They are able to combine witty, intellectual, (at times) comedic wordplay with the pure musical talent and ingenuity that has given each one a successful, life-long music career with ease. The politically/religiously-charged “The Ruling Class” or the keyboard-laden, crunchy guitar-filled “Thou Shalt Wilt” are two stand out tracks as well, each different than rest, but sharing a sense of continuity and wholeness with the rest of the record. The album’s booklet is even playful and unique in its own right. Each track has its own page in the booklet with goofy, photo booth photos of the band members at the top and a photo of each instrument they play on that particular track underneath the band member who plays it. You’ll have to see it to fully appreciate it, and while I’m sure that description doesn’t do it justice, I figured someone needed to give them kudos for the idea. Though it should come as no surprise, Tweedy, Kotche and O’Rourke have done it again. Born Again In The USA is an album you’ll be listening to for years to come… guaranteed.

Loose Fur
Drag City

1. A Ghost Is Born
2. Jeff Tweedy’s Loose Fur Reveal Album Details
3. Foreign Born Jumps Ship To Secretly Canadian
4. Born Ruffians @ Webster Hall | NYC
5. Foreign Born Hit The Road