Vic Chesnutt / AT THE CUT

At The Cut picks up where North Star Deserter left off, with the explosive opening tune “Coward” displaying all the epic soaring thrust this band is capable of. From this bracing beginning, the album quickly changes temperature and temperament, settling into what is arguably the most intimate, pensive and heartbreaking work of Vic Chesnutt’s career. Cowardice, courage, mortality, tenacity, defiance, mourning and memory are its themes. Throughout the album, and even on the two tracks that blister and blast, there is a lyrical intimacy and directness, a searingly raw honesty to Vic’s voice and words, that finds no parallel in his body of work.