Alec Ounsworth

"Obscene Queen Bee #2"

by John Vettese

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If "Satan Said Dance" taught us nothing else, it's that Alec Ounsworth doesn't work well unhinged. I may be the only person who honestly dug that overwhelmingly panned song, a six-minute freakout on his band Clap Your Hands Say Yeah's sophomore outing Some Loud Thunder. The bastardized Krautrock of their debut fared much better with the listening public, and if the gods are merciful, so will Ounsworth's recent solo effort, Mo Beauty (Anti-). It has majestic brass bands arranged tastefully with jangly guitar, but scan to the penultimate cut, "Obscene Queen Bee #2," and all you'll find is four chords, a haunting Rhodes, a comforting pedal steel and sublime simplicity. Sure, Ounsworth's lyrics are still cryptic — he seems to be addressing a companion who's bankrupt, emotionally or otherwise — but there is a moment of directness. In clear tones, his trademark nasal warble as restrained as it's ever been, he sings: "In my defense, I have no sense for what the neighbors think of self-control." This may once have been true. But as readily as he cops to a fault, Ounsworth proves he can overcome it.

Tue., Dec. 8, 9 p.m., $10, Johnny Brenda's, 1201 N. Frankford Ave., 215-739-9684, johnnybrendas.com.