Absurd or not, Kensrue's Please Come Home is just that, one of the better indie-country albums of this year or last, an example of how the alt-country ethos can be blended with modern alternative flair to create a great album. From the opening strains of "I Knew You Before," which profiles a young woman who "dreamed of sharing her heart," instead winding up sharing her bed, baring her skin instead of her soul, it's clear this isn't your grandfather's country album. But it's a respectful effort, one which takes clear note of the genre's rich cultural history in molding Kensrue's own take on the sound.

What results is one of the first high quality indie releases of the new year. "Pistol" features a laid back groove and a snide opening lyric: "Love how you curse when I wake you up and sweetly demand that I fill your cup," he sings, loading the song with truly apt descriptions -- describing the girl of his dreams by personifying her as a pistol, everything from the "smile of [her] cool gunpowder glare" to how "she shoots [him] straight and true."

On "Consider The Ravens" Kensrue sketches us a down-on-his-luck protagonist who's seemingly got nothing to live for, praying, "father give me faith, providence and grace ... sweet deliverer you lift up my head and leave me in your wake," backing the song with a soothing melody built of acoustic guitar and piano. And the album?s closing track, "Blanket of Ghosts," echoes early work by the Wallflowers and the Black Crowes, as Kensrue sings: "Bury me deep, cover me with snow, wrap me in sleep and a blanket of ghosts," to a swell of B3 organ. The song's a haunting way to end the album, a solid effort which clocks in at barely half an hour in length, just long enough to hook you into listening again, not long enough to outstay its welcome.

Kensue's solo debut suggests he's a singer-songwriter to be reckoned with. Those who ignored his band Thrice because the music was too loud and confrontational, missing the solid tunesmith involved in that band?s work on albums like The Artist and the Ambulance and Vheissu, will ignore this album at their own peril. Please Come Home is an effort from a seasoned musician with the chops to survive in this industry no matter what style of music he plays. That this is a solid country album stands as a testament to his songwriting talent.