Stalwart Midwestern gothic Americana enthusiasts have always been story-driven, but where past outings kept the narrative largely oblique, delivers a straight-up conceptual piece that pushes the group's self-described "whiskey devil music" in some exciting but still familiar directions. Billed as a space Western (and practically begging for placement in a Firefly reboot), the 11-track set follows the trajectory of a pair of lost lovers looking to reconnect in a post-apocalyptic scenario. A grand canvas to paint on for sure, but have always been more attuned to the personal side of strife, and the global ramifications of a ravaged earth are merely alluded to, with the choice between love or survival serving as the tale's fulcrum. Employing a softer and more measured sonic attack than 2015's raucous but retaining its underlying muscle and tasteful keyboard work, crystallizes the traditional sound into something more refined, though no less emotionally harrowing. The folksy and seemingly bucolic "Chasin' Ghosts" and "Travelin' Far" harbor deep wounds, as does the elegiac closer, "Last Night on Earth," a last-call rundown of a few of the end of the world's more intimate moments. Anchored by 's emotive cello playing and 's weathered baritone, the band tears through the heavens, floats past the wreckage, and makes peace with the present with the firm backbone and weary grace of travelers who have seen both the best and the worst that humanity has to offer. ~ James Christopher Monger