Cass McCombs: Humor Risk

Label: Domino

How do we know 2011 has been a good year for music? Two full Cass McCombs albums, that's how. Warm on the heels of the quiet brilliance of Wit's End comes Humor Risk, with a higher quotient of the more upbeat pop we had come to expect from the itinerant McCombs and every last bit of the achingly genius songwriting. "Pain and love, oh yeah, are the same thing," he sings on first single "The Same Thing," which spins wisdom like that throughout its six minutes. Who makes six-minute-long pop singles?! But wait: "Mystery Mail" tops it, coming in just shy of eight minutes and carving through the turkey with a sweet Velvets-like riff that just works and works and works. Yet the best tune here might be "Robin Egg Blue," coming in under four minutes with its sauntering beat, its sweet melody, and McCombs spinning his unique magic, bringing together fables of heaven and earth and leaving the lesson exposed for all to see and ponder. Such a good record.