Billy Bragg
Tooth and Nail
(Dine Alone Records)
3.5/5
Tooth and Nail, Billy Bragg’s first studio solo album in five years, is definitely a lot more listenable and thoughtful than past albums, but it doesn’t quite stand up next to the three Mermaid Avenue albums he did with Wilco, where they used Woody Guthrie lyrics.
Bragg writes the kind of protest songs that are usually heard mid-day at folk festivals. The new album is a little outdated and is clearly not targeted towards the modern youth, but it does have a lot to say.
The album is politically charged and has clear inspirational and anti-establishment messages about empowering the people and not being tied down by the illusions of being dependent on societyÉ if you’re into that sort of thing.
Much better than the protest songs are the romantic songs on the album: they are charmingly corny, humbly hokey, and quite thoughtful.
It’s very apparent that Tooth and Nail is the album of an aging freedom fighter.
-Nick Joy