Cipher

this album is a mixed bag, but ultimately its positives outweigh the negatives, and by a wide margin too. cipher is home to mostly interesting lyrics and mostly great instrumentation, with hints of humor and satire thrown in the mix despite being a gothic country album. its "introduction[s] to the power of braces" in particular remind me a lot of hadestown, despite being made two years earlier, and they act as interludes between the three distinct parts of the album: the good part, the bad part, and the mixed part.

for the first five tracks, i really enjoyed listening to this, since it's dynamic, grand, and fun. "all about the bullfrog in three verses" and "americadio" are both stunning.

we can skip everything from here until "jesus is in my body - my body has let me down" because i don't want to talk about the bad section. i'm divided on this song, since the production and atmosphere of it are both so well-done, but i'm always made uncomfortable by its lyrics and vocals. "red pirate of the prairie" and "that fierce cow is common sense in a country dress," though, both completely make up for it and more.