Slaid Cleaves

Maine-born, Austin-based troubadour Slaid Cleaves really knows how to time an album for the depths of a recession. His breakthrough release, Broke Down, coincided with the economic downturn of 2001, and now Everything You Love Will be Taken Away comes, well ... now. Perhaps Cleaves is channeling his inner Guthrie, as on the ironic “Beautiful Thing,” a stinging populist rant that concludes with “A dark age looms, there’s evil at hand/Somehow I still believe in the goodness of man.” Elsewhere, he’s reluctant to find a sliver of silver lining — “Every bond is a bond to sorrow,” he sings on the opener, “Cry” — but his melodies sometimes serve that purpose. “Cry” is an irresistible tune more pop than folk, and “Hard to Believe” is Springsteen-influenced and ably aided by Gurf Morlix’s production. About a victim of the new industrial revolution, it’s quintessential Slaid: a powerful and compassionate portrait, understated and finely detailed. “Still got my old Teamsters card,” he sighs with his gently worn tenor, “still waitin’ on my reprieve.” Everything may not quite approach Broke Down for consistency, but it’s Cleaves’ strongest set since and evidence that he’s mastered simplicity and grace, something of which Guthrie would be proud.