Will Oldham is a purist. The Palace guitarist and singer/songwriter won't give interviews; he doesn't send out free albums to the press; he takes his work as an indie-rock backwoods apostle seriously. You may say that such behavior reeks of self-importance, and it does. But Oldham's sense of gravity comes through so affectingly on his records that it's easy to let it slide. Viva Last Blues, the third full-length release by the former Palace Brothers – back this time as Palace Music – sounds quite a bit fuller than any of their previous low-fi country records, yet it's still raw and moving.

The band's first two LPs, There Is No One What Will Take Care of You (1993) and Palace Brothers (1994), were so unbelievably spare and desolate they sounded like a collection of lonesome cries from mountaintops. Accompanied only by acoustic guitar, Oldham's crooked plaints soared with unmitigated despair. On their 1994 EP, Hope, Palace added piano, organ, bass, drums and electric guitar to their Appalachian folk songs. With Viva Last Blues, they've gone further. There are loud tunes on this record.

Viva Last Blues opens with a careening slide guitar that twists through Oldham's intensely weary and frank vocal. Moving at a languid pace, his songs unwind into tales of work and loss, and life and death – delivered with an evangelical twinge. Then, about halfway through the record, producer Steve Albini's hand becomes apparent. Surely he's a match for Oldham in the purism department. Tracks like "Cat's Blues" feature wailing electric guitars, fervid drumming and a rough drone in the background. It's true, Oldham stands accused of self-indulgent absurdity: "If I could fuck a mountain, Lord, I would fuck a mountain." However, when the turbid lyrics ring true – and even when they don't – Palace Music offer up a complete sound that's remarkably compelling and honest in its whining. (RS 720)

NILOU PANAHPOUR