Kerosene Hat

David Lowery has always managed to keep his wits about him without turning his humor into a comedy skit. Whether with the artsy-coloring of Camper Van Beethoven or the streamlined attack of Cracker, Lowery knows how to balance an act. Kerosene Hat, Cracker’s second album, is a nicely focused collection that opens with one of the band’s most brilliant songs. “Low” not only nicely deflates the relationship in question (“To be with you girl is like being low”) but also cleverly patterns itself after Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit” with its sparse guitar leads leading to the cathartic chorus. “Get Off This” further emphasizes the Lowery/Johnny Hickman guitar duo with a tough but tasteful one-two punch that sets the tone for the country shadings of “Lonesome Johnny Blues.” The deceptively titled “Euro-Trash Girl” offers none of the implied glam rock but settles for a midwestern backbeat that confirms Cracker as one of the most accessible yet inventive “roots-rock” bands of the alternative-defined ‘90s.