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	Dan Bern MY COUNTRY II EP (MESSENGER)

Dan Bern’s wit and wisdom serve him well on this politically charged departure EP; he transcends its context while maintaining a refreshingly unapologetic attitude. Set against a traditional folk landscape fueled by his able band, the International Jewish Banking Conspiracy, the opening "President" is a humorous tale that puts Bern in the White House. After that, it’s all kidding aside, as he pulls apart our nation’s sorry state of affairs piece by piece, moving beyond politics to expose some aspects of American modern living that feed our political shortcomings. "Ostrich Town" examines our collective apathy toward critical thinking; the Dylan-esque "Sammy’s Bat" weaves a metaphor around Sammy Sosa’s corked bat. "Tyranny" is a straight-ahead rocker that’s rich with clanging, country-tinged guitar licks. The title track borrows both its new-wave-meets-reggae motif and its vocal phrasing from early, "angry-young-man"-era Elvis Costello and Joe Jackson. The disc is capped off with the no-nonsense "Bush Must Be Defeated," which though it didn’t get the job done sports some bitingly humorous rhymes.