Having switched from the electro-pop of her debut solo album, Peakahokahoo, to various strains of traditional country on her sophomore effort, Hold Yer Horses,
Piney Gir (aka former Vic Twenty frontwoman Angela Penhaligon) edges back toward pop and rock on
Jesus Wept, retaining the steel guitar and fiddle, but also using a twangy guitar as the central element of the often bouncy arrangements of the songs. The album title does not indicate that she has moved to gospel, but religious imagery is often part of the lyrics, sometimes in odd ways. When she refers to the "40 Days & Nights" of Noah's Ark, for example, Penhaligon is musing about how long she'd like to be sailing around with the object of her affection. As the disc goes on, however, her reflections become more whimsical as the state of her relationship seems to deteriorate. By the time of "I'm Better Off with a Piece of a Shell of a Man," she is telling her now ex-paramour that she'd like to attend his funeral to be sure that he's dead, adding that probably no one else would bother to show up. And in the closer, "Pray I Never Wake to Tell," she notes that he feels the same way, repeatedly singing in the chorus, "You'll be grateful when I'm dead." Thankfully, such sentiments are set to boisterous music that belies them, even adding a note of humor.
The Piney Gir Country Roadshow are a rollicking outfit, and this is their most consistent collection yet. ~ William Ruhlmann