The Karl Hendricks Trio - The Jerks Win Again (2003)

Karl Hendricks and his Trio returned after a pretty long break with The Jerks Win Again. It's not like the hiatus had Hendricks taking up accordion — Jerks is just as loud and rangy and rocking as anything the band had done in its 12-plus years of output. Opener "Chuck Dukowski Was Confused" is five minutes of buzzy guitar, cymbal-heavy drumming, and wordy lyrics about cynicism and girls — it's the kind of an undeniable thing that used to kick off indie rock albums in 1994 (think "Wating for the Guns" from Butterglory's Crumble). That same sound informs later tracks like "Thank God We Have Limes" ("We've only got two cheap beers left...") and "Ballad of Bill Lee," which imagines the loose cannon '70s pitcher's feelings of futility in the face of mainstream complacency. Jerks' longer pieces might not work as well. Hendricks' prescient lyrical musings get a little lost in all the noisy, Yo La-like soloing — the pleasant yet distracted "Night Has No Eyes" and closer "Summer of Warm Beer" are guilty of this. Because of these slight inconsistencies, Jerks Win Again might not be the best place for Hendricks rookies to start listening (that award would go to 1996's For a While, It Was Funny). However, longtime fans will find plenty to like here, as Hendricks' keen social eye, lovable self-loathing, and decibel-splitting guitar work are all present and accounted for.