Al Tuck

"There is a God, children," Al Tuck intones in a segmented, a cappella pronouncement that recurs throughout his wildest album ever. It's a measure of his faith that many "There is a God" verses are inspired by his good fortune: a lover moves across country for him; a car's runaway wheel narrowly misses striking him down. We're also lucky that his recent prolific streak is yielding his most astounding work. Featuring Tuck's reconfigured No Action band, this LP is his most fleshed-out rock effort in some time and songs like "Five-O" and "We Didn't Dance" are spellbinding. The title track is a compelling first-person narrative: Tuck getting drunk alone at the wake of someone he never knew, her life flashing before him via a projection of her abandoned Facebook page. One of many lyrical leaps on the record, it's a wry confessional clipping along at the limping, stoned pace of Dylan's "Visions of Johanna" and one of Tuck's finest songs. The whole LP is brilliant; this is Al Tuck at his most daring, in full command, and transcendent. Amen.