Like The Replacements, Australia's You Am I has always managed the virtually impossible act of mixing and matching rough-around-the-edges rock 'n' roll, biting wit and heartbreaking vulnerability into one powerful, cohesive whole. The band's self-titled studio album, its ninth, turns the volume down a bit but ups the ante — another sleeper gem for an under-appreciated veteran band.
In "Lie and Face the Sun," singer-songwriter Tim Rogers cleverly twists the title phrase in a way that plays up the song's moral ambiguity. In a way, the result sums up the band's modus operandi perfectly: a tangled web of bravado and regret, wrapped in arresting, melodic tunes that neatly capture the conflict and complexity of being human in all its messy glory.
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