This came out in 2002 – or at least that’s when I got it. Here’s what I said about it back then (with some minor editing):
When you are the lead singer and songwriter in a band that’s named after you, is a solo album really necessary? Well, if you’re Bobby Bare Jr., the answer is threefold: Yes, yes and yes.
The exceptional Young Criminals’ Starvation League shelves the southern-fried glam-pop of Bobby’s day job in Bare Jr. for a smaller, more intimate and earnest approach. Recorded in a single week, these 11 songs are mainly built around simple acoustic guitar lines, tastefully sparse arrangements and no-frills production — all of which bring the skewed brilliance of Bare’s distinctive songcraft into clearer focus than ever before. From the typically twisted romantic odes like I’ll Be Around and Bullet Through My Teeth to the bitterly hilarious anti-rock kvetch Dig Down, this disc captures one of rock’s most talented young songwriters at his leanest and meanest. Call it bare Bare.
