The turbulent current political climate runs deep throughout Son Volt’s ninth album Union —so much so that Jay Farrar and company even recorded four of the 13 tracks at the Woody Guthrie Center in Tulsa, Okla. And if the album title suggests a coming together in some sort, it’s far from that. Union , in this case, is in reference to a political state, as in “to form a more perfect union.” Son Volt’s approach to the music, this time, is less rock-and-roll and way more acoustic; it feels like this was a deliberate choice, in an effort to not get any of the messages lost with a sound that could be construed as “fun.” In that way, it feels like a return to Farrar’s first great band, altcountry godfather Uncle Tupelo. His chiseled, deep voice is a perfect conduit for storytelling like this and he doesn’t waste any time doing so. The opening tune, “While Rome Burns” finds Farrar exploring the idleness that occurs while we let those in power essentially destroy everything around us. “The 99” continues down that path as Farrar sings a scathing critique of the 1 percent, “corporate machines” and those that bow down to the dollar. And he wades into the immigration debate with the album’s closer “The Symbol”: “They say I’m a criminal/ That’s what they say/ My children were born/ Born in the USA,” Farrar sings over a soft guitar line. It’s sad and Farrar conveys that sadness rather eloquently; it’s clear that the weight of the world is bearing down on him and channeling that press into what he does best is one of the only ways to cope. As a listener, likely already inundated with these feelings on a daily basis, do you want to hear songs about this for 40 minutes? If the answer is yes, then Union is certainly a fine exploration of the WTF world right now. Mike Ayers TR3 The Sea Versus the Mountain