Ry Cooder is such a masterful guitarist and bluesman that even when he writes topical songs that are sure to lose some impact as years pass and topics change, they come across as art first and politics second. In other words, the rustic and acoustic "Mutt Romney Blues" is still a fantastic performance regardless of how you feel about Mitt Romney's dog riding on the roof of a car. "The Wall Street Part of Town" throws together a tough electric blues band to rock down the canyons of downtown Manhattan. "Guantanamo" adds positively lusty electric guitar lines to a guttural and rocking sing-along of evil proportions. "Cold Cold Feeling" shows The Black Keys how it's done when it comes to dirty garage blues, with the slapback echo on Cooder's voice adding a ghostly spiritualism. "Going to Tampa" throws together a country string-band ensemble for a lacerating take on Cooder's vision of the 2012 Republican National Convention. (He didn't anticipate Clint Eastwood arguing with an empty chair.) Best of all is the dark night of the soul evoked in the voodoo-swamp blues of "Kool-Aid." For protest music, this stuff rocks.