The title track of Dale Watson’s third and final album for Hightone, I Hate These Songs, hinges on a rueful appraisal of the values this classic country songwriter: “Note by note/Line by line/It cuts to the bone/Man I hate these songs.” Like his forefathers—Willie Nelson, Kris Kristofferson, Merle Haggard, Buck Owens—Watson brings a wry truth to every one of his tunes. The swinging truck-stop wit of “Pity Party,” “Hair of the Dog," and “That’s Pride” is what makes Watson a perennial favorite of the Texas dancehall circuit, but it's the plaintive vulnerability of “I Think of You” that shows he's more than a flash in the pan. In addition, Watson always includes unexpected flavors in his retro sound, whether it’s the flamenco rhythm of “Count on You” or “Jack’s Truck Stop & Café,” which is so gentle and easygoing that it practically invents a whole new spin on the so-called “tough” honky-tonk sound. One of the great pleasures of I Hate These Songs is hearing the dueling lines of guitarist Redd Volkaert and pedal steel man Lloyd Maines, two of Austin’s most venerable and inventive sidemen.