I imagine that Minneapolis' Glenrustles live in a pretty decent neighborhood of music next door to those inbreds, Wilco. While the Glenrustles keep a decent lawn and play outstanding rock and roll, they don't have a box full of letters. This is why they win.

In Stone, the band's second release, is an outstanding follow-up to Brood, which was a great album marred by lackluster production. Rich Mattson and company recorded In Stone at Mattson's Flowerpot studio, located in his basement. The result is much closer to the live frenzy the Glenrustles thump out on stage. I guess all good things really do begin at home.

This brings me back to the Wilco comparison. Jeff Tweedy's bastardization of all things that made Uncle Tupelo cool never found its way into Jay Farrar's far, far superior offshoot Son Volt. The Glenrustles walk that Son Volt line, then kick it under the carpet.

"Do you wanna sit there and make me cry or do you want me to punch you in the face?" Rich Mattson sings at the beginning of "Punching the Drunk," and the delivery is startling: laid back vocals lounging on a midtempo 4/4 with a furious amount of bile lurking underneath. Now try this one: "Casino queeeeeeeeeen / My lord you're mean!" What the fuck is that? It sounds like a commercial for Caesar's Palace. (Maybe I'm still bitter about trading Jack Logan's Bulk away for the Wilco debut, a decision that's probably going to keep me out of a really good school.)

Alright, enough about Wilco. This is the Glenrustles we're here to discuss. The thirteen tracks that comprise In Stone run the gambit from introspective rockers like "Truth Hurts" to balls-out rave-ups like "Deathwish Freaks" and "Drop Me Off at Daryl's." Great music comes from the heart, and Mattson's is weary. The forlorn resignation that comes out in the introspective song "Learning to Adjust" should sound cliched, right down to the line "There's a million people like us learning to adjust," but goddamn if it doesn't. That alone makes In Stone something to be proud of.

When it comes right down to it, it's like Elvis Costello said: writing about music is like dancing to architecture. If only it really were possible to equate music to buildings, In Stone is one hell of a skyscraper.

-Jason Josephes