Robbie Fulks,
Revenge!

Label: Yep Roc Records
Released: 2007

(4 out of 5)

Robbie Fulks' South Mouth, Country Love Songs, and Let's Kill Saturday Night were pivotal in my early-adult awakening to the splendors of alt-country after years of shunning anything even remotely tagged "country." And in fact he's been a critics' darling for well over a decade, but it never ceases to amaze me just how many folks with similar tastes are unfamiliar with his trail-blazing brand of insurgent country. Perhaps some are turned off by his wickedly off-kilter sense of humor, or confused by his stylistic tangents, or misled by the "Very Best of…" album that contained b-sides and outtakes instead of fan favorites, or denied the chance to ever even hear his music thanks to the mainstream music establishment he castigated in "Fuck This Town." Fulks' two-disc live album, Revenge!, is a microcosm of his (dis)appeal: the pulp fiction inspired cover art, a lengthy intro that jokingly pits innocent singer and band against their evil label, his cover of Cher's "Believe." With Robbie Fulks, there are no sacred cows. But there's always some damn fine music. Songs like "Fixin' to Fall" and "The Buck Starts Here" are as good as any purebred honky-tonk. "Let's Kill Saturday Night" brilliantly captures the crackling potential of small-town down-time. And then there's his trademark humor, which shines through on "Cigarette State" and "I Wanna Be Mama'd," not to mention the aforementioned homage to Cher. With its true-to-life eclecticism, Revenge! isn't likely to convert the uninitiated (at least not without some prompting from friends in the know), but it's sure to thrill those of us who've joined the cult of Fulks.

Listen: "Fixin' to Fall," "Cigarette State," "Let's Kill Saturday Night," "Believe"

Buy: Amazon, iTunes

May 22, 2007