Road Apples

On their second album, The Hip shake off the bluesy dressing of the preceding *Up to Here* to forge their own singular brand of raw-to-the-bone rock ‘n’ roll. They hit new levels of toughness and intensity on “Little Bones,” a relentless, glass-smashing ripper whose deceptively celebratory hook (“Happy hour is here!”) can’t conceal the unease coursing through Gord Downie’s underbelly poetry. The band also flex their taut funk muscle on the sinewy “Twist My Arm,” however, the folk lullaby “Fiddler’s Green” and beautifully bruised ballad “Long Time Running” reveal a heretofore untapped tenderness.