Like the man says, the more things change, the more they stay the same. It's been close to a quarter-century since became the uncrowned king of the lo-fi revolution thanks to his early recordings with , but while in 2009 he has a number of gifted musicians on hand to help him, and a professional recording studio at his disposal, shows his songwriting style and musical direction has remained remarkably consistent with the passage of time. Producer , whose previous clients include and , helped out with these recordings, and (of ), (ex- ), and all sat in for the sessions, but outside of the higher fidelity, most of the tunes on could have been recorded in 's living room on a four-track, given the simple, uncluttered approach he takes to these songs. This might suggest is stuck in a rut, but that's not the way sounds; instead, these 14 songs are the work of a man who has mastered his defining style, and with this album he's showing he knows how to write a moody but expressive song and bring it to rich emotional life on tape just as eloquently as ever. In some respects this is a long way from 's early days; suggests the grooves of his work, and the title tune rock out simply but decisively ( hardly brings the same level of heaviness to his drumming here that defines his work with , but he reveals a sure rhythmic confidence in his performances), and is a compelling run-through the heart of darkness. But most of is built around 's barely accompanied acoustic guitar and his tales of romantic disappointment, and he hasn't run out of heartfelt variations on his favorite theme; Lord knows what will happen if 's muse ever starts understanding girls, but their mystery is still a source of lyrical inspiration to him, and he not only hasn't run out of things to say about the subject, he has plenty of good music that suits his heartache. is still the poet laureate of hiss and heartbreak, and although the hiss is missing on , that's the only defining quality he's lost with the passage of time. ~ Mark Deming