It was a very common story in 2021 and 2022 -- a musician was planning to hit the road in 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic put paid to their touring plans, and stuck at home, they decided their home studio might be good for more than just cutting demos. was gearing up to tour in support of 2020's when the world suddenly shut its doors, and as he observed a rich variety of chaos while homebound, he started writing songs about it all. 2022's doesn't sound like a homemade album -- many of ' usual collaborators (including on keyboards, on pedal steel, on bass, and on drums) were happy to fly in their parts, and the traditionally personal feel and the smokey caress of ' voice are very much present in these intimate performances. However, a more careful listen to the songs shows how much is a product of its time and place. As watched many daily lives get shifted into neutral, armed thugs storm the U.S. Capitol building, immigrants get treated like animals, and many of the cornerstones of American society and culture threatening to vanish in an instant, he was writing songs. is not so much angry as gently appalled, the voice of a thoughtful man saddened and puzzled by the upending of all that seems reasonable in his world. isn't , and he delivers his messages with the graceful impressionistic croon that has been the hallmark of his work since broke through in the 1990s. ' commentary on the state of the world is quite artful, but a look at the lyrics and a careful listen to the vocals allows the activist side of the songs to step forward, and when they take shape it's effective in the way it whispers rather than shouts in our ear. As a vocalist and songwriter, has lost none of the ability and magic that's made him worth hearing for the past 30 years, and whether you want to hear its messages as forefront or subtext, reminds us of the reasons he's still worth hearing in the 21st century. ~ Mark Deming