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In “Middle Man,” Bottle Rockets frontman Brian Henneman describes the frustration of being neither fish nor fowl, regarded by the world’s tastemakers as “invisible but reliable.” That’s been the Missouri alt-country band’s blessing and curse for more than a decade–too urbane for the redneck set, too down-home for the rockers–yet they soldier on. Aided by new guitarist John Horton and bassist Keith Voegele, mainstays Henneman and drummer Mark Ortmann deliver an album of sharply rendered songs about the lies our eyes tell us (“Blind”), newfound temperance (“I Quit”), mooning over an ex (“Happy Anniversary”) and the deeper truths of red-and-blue-state America (the title track).
