Bruce Springsteen - Nebraska

Mostly picked this up because of the comparisons with Arcade Fire's Neon Bible. I have heard this before.

Mostly stripped-down sparse folksy melodies. It's quite an intimate affair, I suppose, although there's overbearing space in the songs that needs to be filled up. He does put in some glockenspiel and mandolin but it still sounds barren.

All of the songs are I-IV-V chords so they sound predictable. The lyrics are nice, though the obsession with blue collar workers I do not get, he should have gone for more universal characters or at least some diversified class groups.

Best song here is "Highway Patrolman", a simple story and direct yet not forceful. "State Tropper" is a pretty good version of Suicide's "Frankie Teardrop", complete with a simulcra of the fuzz synth drones and the same screams, even if the intent is different. The Chuck Berry-ish "Open All Night" is different kinda approach, yet its solo electric guitar reminds me of Black Francis' solo concerts.

Pretty ok, I guess, what's interesting is that he followed this up with the crowd-pleasing Born in the USA, a 360 degrees turnaround.