Something's Wrong / Lost Forever

America in 2009 is a place and time where it isn't hard at all to have the blues, and Scott H. Biram sure seems to know it. The "Dirty One-Man-Band"'s third album for Bloodshot, Something's Wrong/Lost Forever, doesn't spend a lot of time dwelling on the specifics, but if ever there was set of songs that reflects the edgy malaise of a nation trying to shake off war, unemployment and bad karma, this disc fills the bill. "Ain't It A Shame" is a tough bit of gospel-tinged blues in which Biram and his harmonica preaches on a nation full of hate and confusion, and it segues into "Judgement Day," a considerably more raucous assessment of a day when greed and bad ideas work hand in hand with the devil to bring the whole planet down. Elsewhere, Something's Wrong/Lost Forever is dominated by stories of lost souls just trying to get by, a theme that's always timely but feels even more weighty right now. Biram sounds a bit less manic on these sessions than in his earlier work, but the grit and raw, plain-spoken emotional edge of his music hasn't changed much even if he's spending a bit more time with keyboards and acoustic instruments than a blown-out electric guitar on tunes like "Sinkin' Down," "Draggin' Down The Line" and the excellent " "Still Drunk, Still Crazy, Still Blue." But don't get the notion that Biram has forsaken his wild side -- "The Wishing Well" and "Hard Time" still crank it up loud and dirty, and he teams up with the Black Diamond Heavies on "I Feel So Good" to chase those bad vibes away. Scott H. Biram isn't trying to deliver a State Of The Union Address on Something's Wrong/Lost Forever, but he's sure made a record that resonates with the times; sometimes it's dark, sometimes it's edgy, but there's always soul, passion and life in it, and it comes straight from the heart of a man who sings and plays like his life depends on it each time he steps up to the microphone. ~ Mark Deming