The Gunshy: There's No Love In This War

Effusive praise for "the greatest generation" has grown tiresome, as tales of the grunts fighting the last good war have been retold many times over. That fatigue doesn't really apply to The Gunshy's There's No Love In This War, though. For its fourth album, leader Matt Arbogast created 17 songs based on letters his grandfather wrote his grandmother from the European front lines in World War II. Arbogast's scratchy, Tom Waits-esque tone provides the perfect voice to the weary, sweetly lovesick notes. They're also well complemented by the group's (also Waits-ian) Americana, which varies from hushed ("August 13, 1943") to rollicking ("December 18, 1943"). All of it makes War an affecting, engrossing listen.