It's June 2005, and my friend Jason and I arrive unfashionably early to see Bob Schneider's Texas Bluegrass Massacre. It's a beautiful if warm spring day — perfect to grab a table in front of Threadgill's outdoors stage and wait for the show. A couple Shiners later and the opening band, delayed by traffic, arrives just as it's scheduled to go on stage. As he surveys the grounds, I can tell the lead singer is disappointed with the turnout, which is me, Jason, and maybe 10 other earlybirds. Plus, he's understandably frustrated with having to stare directly into the setting sun. But all quibbles are set aside as Rodney Parker picks up his acoustic guitar and launches into an unforgettable opening set.

Obviously, Rodney Parker & 50 Peso Reward made quite an impression on me that night. I bought their then-new CD, Blow the Soot Out, from the merch table and played it for days on end. And I must have tested my poor wife's patience as I rambled on and on about how great these guys were. Luckily, she fell in love with the CD too, and together we've played Blow the Soot Out more than all but a small handful of albums collected over the last few years. I never reviewed the CD but should have. It's a small masterpiece of heartache, frustration, and turmoil. And boy can those guys play.

So it was with great excitement and a little trepidation that I learned of a new album a few months back. We've all fallen in love with bands based on one great album, only to be disappointed by so-so follow-ups. Could Rodney Parker & 50 Peso Reward's second release possibly live up to their inspired debut? Simply, yes. The Lonesome Dirge is an 11-song slice of country-rock brilliance that gets better with each and every listen.

"Firefight" starts the album with a full-bodied kick of simmering rage aimed at safe society and wasted virility (I was in the woods saying 'I don't think so' / But I don't know no more / No I don't know no more / Oh we're all so soft and clean). The emotiveness of Parker's voice renders his disappointment palpable. "10lb. Test" is a great rural idyll in the vein of "200 Acres," this time focusing on the glories and frustrations of fishing instead of farming.

The album reaches its pinnacle with "Ghost." Nearly 5 minutes long, it's a rich and multi-layered story that I must admit is difficult to decode but rewards honest effort. Returning to the theme of wasted virility, it's a tale of two men mourning the loss of their friend:

You were midstride when the bullet hit your head
I rolled you over, you were just dead
I left on you on the ground in the puddle that you bled, remember
I remember then I was alone when I made the long drive
To Troy's house to tell him you died
He quit digging ditches and he walked inside mumbling
"How did it get so bad?"

One verse later, a funereal trumpet chorus. I get goosebumps every time — simply great songwriting and delivery.

On a lighter note, another favorite is the Irish-styled drinking song "I'm Never Getting Married." It's so catchy that my kids, ages 6 and 7, join in whenever they hear it, inevitably giggling their way through the singalong refrain (So fellas just tell them when they ask you whether you'll ever get married say 'never not ever' / Go ahead set me free, go ahead cut the tether / Cuz I am a bachelor now and forever).

I can't recommend this album — or this band — strongly enough. Rodney Parker & 50 Peso Reward is among the best our state has to offer. And if there's justice in this universe (no given, that), they'll never have to stare into the setting sun again unless playing before a sizeable festival audience.

Listen:

"Firefight"

"10lb. Test"

"Ghost"

"I'm Never Getting Married"

Buy:

Lone Star Music, Amazon, iTunes, CD Baby