A Folk-Rock Singer Gets 'Less Polite'

Will Kimbrough moves from hired hand to guitar-slinging frontman.

As a hired-gun guitar-slinger for the likes of Rodney Crowell, Todd Snider, Josh Rouse and others, Will Kimbrough has earned a reputation as an "alien" — a little joke among the alt-country cognoscenti that it's the only way to explain Kimbrough's otherworldly prowess. Fortunately for Kimbrough, who aspires to a solo career, his songwriting chops are solid, too.

On his new Americanitis, Kimbrough cranks out folk-rock that plays on the best traditions of both genres. In "Less Polite," Kimbrough declares his independence from the euphemistic reserve that serves as the hallmark of his Alabama upbringing. When he sings, "I'm trying to be less polite / I'm fed up with the Christian wrong," the jagged polemic goes down easy thanks to a smartly paced melody with just enough crunch to keep it from devolving into country-pop syrup.

Listen to yesterday's 'Song of the Day.'