Album Review: This American Blues by Ford Madox Ford

Chip Kinman’s career stretches back 40 years, through The Dils, Rank and File, Blackbird, and Cowboy Nation. He’s always broken his own rules musically, playing styles from punk to country to industrial. His latest band finds him a world-weary survivor, with lyrics like "I feel it closing in, ma, but I expect it," and "Good morning, dark American night." Kinman embraces a Lou Reed style of terse rootsy rock, and about half the songs hijack lyrics from iconic rock & roll songs,with suprising efficacy. The last cut finds him breaking into the light with a rousing cover of “Let’s Work Together.” Recommended.