On his sixth album, What It Is, he unburdens his mind about the volatility of our time so unassumingly, he never comes close to overburdening his songs. Carll has always had a gift for bending his tone and inflection when playing the part of a buffoon, but the easygoing self-awareness he applies to such roles now makes the performances not only land, but resonate deeply...It's far more Carll's style to give wry appraisals of American brokenness than to get riled up about it, just as it's his way to keep his philosophizing mellow. During the honky-tonk boogie "Times Like These," he contrasts feelings of powerlessness with the abuse of power in a burned-out drawl, and shrugs over lost opportunities and future possibilities amid the bluegrass gallop of the title track. -npr