B+ The Bottle Rockets

Bit Logic Bloodshot

The Bottle Rockets offer a no-nonsense view of their surroundings through Brian Henneman’s sharp songwriting and some rocking country guitar playing by John Horton.

Bit Logic is the band’s 13th since their 1993 self-titled debut, which had backing vocals from Jeff Tweedy and Jay Farrar.

Henneman’s keen eye for the complications in simple lives only gets sharper with time and Horton’s guitar is ever more thrilling as is the rhythm section of founding member Mark Oatmann (drums) and “new kid” Keith Voegele, on bass since 2005.

“Bad Time to Be an Outlaw” has funky guitars parts coming at you from both speakers. It adds itself to the long list of songs lamenting

the glitz and marketing ploys of the Nashville scene.

“Human Perfection” finds beauty in immediate surroundings, while “Knotty Pine” is a tribute to a songwriting room (“a psychiatrist-treehouse composite”). “Highway 70 Blues” paints the frustration of an Interstate traffic jam and “Lo-Fi” remarks how technological advances sometimes diminish the fidelity of music listening.

“Silver Ring” ends the album on a tender note, as Henneman, whose voice combines Dave Edmunds, Levon Helm and John Prine, bears witness to a most crucial relationship, the one with your true love.

Hot tracks: “Human Perfection,” “Knotty Pine,” “Silver Ring”