Frontman Scott Miller apparently took it personally when the Loud Family failed to make it big. Following their demise three years ago, he swore off performing and songwriting for good. He’s since posted a bunch of severely self-critical essays on the Loud Family Web site, sounding way too smart and emotional for his own good.

Those are, of course, the very qualities that made the Loud Family so glorious. And this posthumous live album is typically unconventional, drawing on their most obscure album tracks, a few covers, and a couple tunes from Miller’s earlier band Game Theory. The opening medley of "Where the Flood Waters Soak Their Belongings" and Brian Eno’s "Here Come the Warm Jets" features dark, ominous keyboards from Alison Faith Levy and a throat-shredding Miller vocal; it’s the sound of a band who’d explode if they hadn’t gotten to play those songs at that minute. The most uplifting number here — and, hell, in recent memory — is called "Dee-Pression," and it leads to a letter-perfect cover of the Pixies’ "Debaser." Elsewhere there’s the usual blend of finely crafted pop hooks, elusive yet resonant lyrics, male-female harmonies (Levy joined the band late, but she was Miller’s ideal foil), and more self-depreciation. The last words sung on Miller’s intended final album are "I’ll do better next time." Let’s hope there is one.