I Never Thought It Would Go This Far (Lower 40, 2015)

The Wrinkle Neck Mules seemed surprised that they're still around after 15 years, 6 full length albums and 1 public dissing from radio bully Don Imus. That's obvious from the title. But they're not anywhere near the end of their road. Commenting on their fourth album (2012's "Let The Lead Fly"), vocalist and primary song co-writer Chase Heard said that many of the tracks from their older records seemed celebratory, about drinking and partying, but the new ones were more about being hung over.

Now on their sixth album, hangovers are a given, but not an excuse. This record is about getting up and getting on with it even when you're tired and sick. It's obvious these guys aren't going to let anything stop them, not road weariness ("Beehive," "Days Don't End") nor lack of monetary success ("Bury My Gold"). Not even death itself. In "The Undertaker's Song" the singer pleads with the almighty for a second pair of wings should the first set not work out.

This album was recorded in a little over one week, and it has unfiltered that air of let's-go-in-and-sing-about-what's-on-our-minds. And what's on the Mules' minds is resilience. These guys have a way with lyrics, and a lot of the songs could apply just as easily to a girlfriend or a wife as to a band mate. Or to a lot of life situations. Listeners with a wrinkle or two of their own will probably appreciate it more than someone still completing their first trip around the block.