by Stephen Thomas Erlewine

With their second album Cracker have lost the smarmy self-righteousness that plagued their otherwise fine debut, replacing it with a surprisingly solid, rocking core. Kerosene Hat is David Lowery's least affected album yet -- its humor is no stranger than "Dead Flowers" by the Stones or "Fat Man in a Bathtub" by Little Feat, two groups that Cracker strongly recall throughout the album. Kerosene Hat is more blues- and country-based than their debut, but it sounds natural, since their songwriting has improved and they've grown tighter as a unit.