Last Friday marked the arrival of a slew of fantastic new releases and sadly I was remiss to include one: Bad at Beautiful, the latest release from The Damnwells. The band’s sixth album and first since 2015’s self-titled effort, Bad at Beautiful also marks the second consecutive album with the original lineup (who prior to 2015 had not played on an album since 2006’s near flawless Air Stereo). Since their inception in 2000 the quartet has married melodic alt-country with plaintive indie-rock in a way that is truly peerless.

Sure enough Bad at Beautiful continues the band’s winning efforts. As strong as any of their prior releases, if not better, the album from start to finish has few if any flaws. The album opens with the nimble and buoyant “Without a Heart” a near-perfect slice of first-rate heartland rock. In short, this is a band that makes music so effortlessly and polished it’s a privilege as a listener to be along for the ride. “Falling Out of Love” folows and is equally as strong as its predecessor if not more so. Frontman Alex Dezen’s vocals are woozy and hypnotic and the band is as air-tight as on any previous album.

The plucky “What If I Talked?” offers some of Dezen’s best lyrics to date, marrying cooking and mixing cocktails to a failed relationship, while the open-hearted “Pretty as Pittsburgh” marries Rust Belt imagery with lovelorn lyrics. If the album’s Side A has a marketable single it’s arguably and most likely “Pretty as Pittsburgh.” After the somewhat forgettable cut “All for the Taking” Side A concludes with “Easy, Tiger.” Not to be confused with the Ryan Adams cut, this effort is a duet with country chanteuse Morgan Wade. Her twangy vocals give the song a decidedly alt-country vibe and it’s so darn rewarding one can’t help but play it back after it finishes.

Side B opens with the urgent and pulsing “It’s Not You” a veritable power-pop knockout that is a reminder that when they want to rock The Damnwells are as explosive as ever. The album’s first ballad “One Way” follows and it’s arguably one of the strongest songs the band has written to date. Anchored by lap steel, “One Way” is tender, delicate and deeply affecting. Most importantly it’s another reminder that The Damnwells are at the top of their game.

The honeyed lyrics of “One Way” are revisited in “Super Expensive Fear.” Most notably though, “Super Expensive Fear” finds Dezen writing another valentine after the album’s first half lamented a love lost. True to their Manhattan roots “Shepherd of 12th Avenue” spins a yarn about the band’s hometown and offers up the album’s most indelible chorus. If ever there was a song that defined The Damnwells it just might be “Shepherd of 12th Avenue.” Bad at Beautiful concludes with the title track, a solo acoustic effort from Dezen featuring backing vocals from Aaron Lee Tasjan. As an album closer and title track it’s frankly a little disappointing but is rescued by some of Dezen’s best lyrics to date.

Of the eleven songs on Bad at Beautiful nine of them are as strong as anything they’ve ever released. Almost twenty five years into their career The Damnwells continue to be one of the most consistent and rewarding bands on the planet. While the band’s path has zigged and zagged it’s utterly refreshing to have the original lineup firing on all cylinders once again. Whether the band releases more music beyond Bad at Beautiful remains to be seen and it’s that very reason one can’t help but cherish and treasure this collection of songs. As their name implies, they’re just so damn good at what they do.