Mike Nicolai’s new CD, “God Fatigue In The Post Atom Age” could easily be thought of as music for the cynical and jaded, but it would terribly unfair to categorize the CD like that. Yes, the lyrics are deliciously sharp and stinging, but at the same time, they’re wickedly funny and touching. Starting with a foundation of stellar guitar playing, Nicolai’s sound melds Bob Dylan, the Jayhawks and the Gear Daddies.

“Tarot’s Road” is the CD’s first track and a complete departure from the others, sounding like an acoustic recording session. The second, “The Depths Of Love,” changes direction into a quirky gypsy sound, feeling like an old-fashioned circus, with lyrics offering a dark perspective on love (“Some people like stick chocolate propositions and vows...There is the smell of blood down in the depths of love”). The “House of Ears” is a new interpretation of the walls have ears (“This house hears everything no matter why I do...if you talk too softly, you might perjur yourself and if you talk too boldly, you might murder yourself”). “It’s Your Blue, Swing It” sounds like an old, scratchy LP, evoking images of cubbyhole-sized smoky club, with regulars at the bar and a few people sitting in rapt attention at a table by the stage. It’s a beautiful, almost gentle, way to end the CD.

“Lifesucker Waltz” is the best lyrically - and arguably, the least politically correct: “The pope died today...the appointed leader of a sham institution that frowns on a lot of my friends.”

If you like your lyrics with a little meat, be prepared to be satisfied after a helping of “God Fatigue In The Post Atom Age.” Just don’t be surprised if you want seconds. CM

www.mikenicolai.net