Songs Of The Ungrateful Living

If you’ve ever parked your truck around the block just so the repo man doesn’t find it, Songs of the Ungrateful Living is the album for you. Spend irresponsibly or carry a double mortgage and tracks like “Gone for Good” and “I Get By” suggest the album will be for you soon, and sooner than you think according to the ever evolving Everlast. The man who once asked us to simply “Jump Around” with his hip-hop group House of Pain has grown into a more rootsy rebel than Kid Rock, but he shares the Kid’s love of gutsy country here, taking it to a more down-and-dirty level and offering a whole lot less hope. Still, this is a vivid eye-level view of the Occupy Wall Street world of 2011, and those who enjoyed the more downtrodden moments of his 2008 album Love, War and the Ghost of Whitey Ford will find this the dour social commentary — with rap and twang — that they’ve been missing. – David Jeffries