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Unfortunately the second album from the three behind Loose Fur - Jim O'Rourke, Jeff Tweedy, and Wilco drummer Glenn Kotche - doesn't live up to the awesome title. The lyrical content covers the topic implied by the title, but its barbs don't cut deep, and the music seems like the result of a lazy weekend jam - the band just throwing together some chunes in the one session where they could get together and releasing it as is, even if it needs a bit more meat. Similar to O'Rourke's solo pop songs, it's comical enough. "Thou Shall Wilt" takes on the Ten Commandments, or rather how hard it is for the devout to follow them... errr... religiously, O'Rourke singing "number 4 is such a pain, the sabbath thing is so arcane, I don't want to disagree, my only day to sleep in late." In "The Ruling Class," Tweedy likens Jesus to a Wall Street, "greed is good" exec, enjoying his standing with the Christian Conservative ruling party by filling his nose with drugs and turning the tax deductions into a sweet private jet. However, the best thing about this song musically is the whistling. Otherwise, it just sounds like "Rattled by the Rush." That's right, Tweedy: congratulations, you've found a whole new way to sound like Pavement. The album's quote-unquote single, "Hey Chicken" (with its well choreographed music video), is a nice little boogie rock song, but it's essentially just some throw together CCR riffs with nonsense lyrics. While those are the highlights, all in all it's an okay album. Tweedy and O'Rourke probably would have to try to make bad music, and after a few listens, you start to get the small jokes that are there and latch onto the few hooks the band throws out. It's all good light fun, but with a title like Born Again in the USA, they could have made something fierce.

Loose Fur at Amazon & Insound