The Bottle Rockets have been a working band for 20-plus years, creating a mix of country, rock, punk and that unidentifiable something that has caught audiences for over two decades. On their latest release, South Broadway Athletic Club, we find Mr. Brian Henneman writing his best tunes yet, songs that are humorous, sad, and straightforward. If you’re looking for an album with a lot of bells and whistles, the new release on Bloodshot most likely won’t do. The band compliments Henneman’s direct and honest lyrics, by occasionally adding a flourish or subtle solo here and there. But these songs don’t need a lot of embellishment. On tracks such as “Monday (Everytime I Turn Around),” there is the sense of the passing of time, the mutability of things, the reality that Monday will come and rear its ugly head once again. Indeed, on the whole of S.B.A.C., there is a resolve to accept life as it is, or at least comment upon life as it is. Henneman has eyes and ears tuned to the everyday things around him and his music reflects this ability to face what’s in front of him.