The Wars of the Bruces

A card-carrying member of Lambchop, a regular contributor to the live and recorded works of Vic Chesnutt, and one-third of Empire State, this Omaha native will spend the fall opening up for Bright Eyes. Give up? For such a ubiquitous talent, too many have missed out on the understated genius of Alex McManus. But no more. McManus's one-man band, the Bruces, all but dormant for seven years, is back with album number two, and The War of the Bruces proves worth the wait. Recorded by Lambchop member and noted producer Mark Nevers (Vic Chesnutt, Jenny Toomey, LeAnn Rimes, Silver Jews) at Nashville's Beech House, The War of the Bruces checks in with a newfound high fidelity that highlights-rather than obscures-McManus's intricate take on indie-fied electric folk. Not since such classics as Palace Brothers' Viva Last Blues, Smog's Julius Caesar or Neutral Milk Hotel's On Avery Island has a collection of songs seemed so uniquely American. Maybe it is the melding of McManus's Midwestern and Southern roots that makes this album so captivating; the songwriter recently relocated from Athens, GA, to his native Omaha, and he traverses all the homestyle musical territories from point A to point B. The Bruces' electrified folk blends a stream-of-consciousness poetic sense with out-of-the-blue (and yet somehow perfectly placed) hooks, an uncontrived and natural approach that could only have issued from an artist so unassuming. That said, McManus's plain musical virtuosity one-ups all comers—with a few exceptions, he played all the instruments on the record, and masterfully.