The dimensions of human suffering are neither outlined, nor predictable. They are subjective and wry. They have the sickest sense of humor and often cause people to believe that they're cursed and if they're able to think such a thing - that there's a dark cloud following them around or that they were just getting the shit hand from destiny - they can write it off with a half-chuckle. They can get their nerves calmed down enough to believe that as easy as it might have come, it can leave them - that cursed cloud.Jimbo Mathus & The Tri-State Coalition sing many tales of familiar suffering - of being broke, of persevering through it all, of traveling down those seemingly dead-ending roads, of obstinate and prevailing women troubles - and they give them the appropriate amount of attention. They treat them to a modest dedication, a flare of emotion and a candid recounting of how these particular pitfalls came to be and then they kick the silly, worthless heart that made the rotten calls in the first place, knowing full-well that that they'll make up with the battered and misguided thing before too long. These are the travails of the imperfect man - the guy who can't keep anything in his wallet, who can't find the right gal - but a man that has principles and looks out at the day with some kind of hard-to-believe optimism. He's going to keep going and he's going to see negative moments as challenges worth tackling.The days are stacked with the efforts of the crooked fates. There's no doubt that they are walking amongst those with daggers getting sweaty in their hands, behind their backs. Should they smile, they'll see rows and rows of shark teeth. These songs come from Bible Belt country and there's hellfire breathing somewhere within them, but they are told by folks who usually come out on the side of the troubled, but righteous. They've got their vices, but they've learned how to drive well as drunks and they've learned how to fight the wicked ways of the world to find love out there wherever it might be hiding.