Slim Cessna's Auto Club -
Unentitled (2011)
It's no secret I've been a little obsessed with this band for the last month or so. I found out about them in like 2009 and even grabbed up most of their discography, but for whatever reason I never got into it as much as I have lately.
Anyways this is their shortest album, but I'm almost willing to call it their best work, or at least their most consistent in terms of track-to-track quality. If any band best exemplifies the idea of beauty in ugly it's these guys. All the band members are pretty homely, but man they can make some beautiful music while using some very dark and ugly subject matter and songwriting. I won't say they're on Nick Cave level of dark and ugly, he's in a league of his own, but they very much keep the idea alive.
If you're lacking in the country genre for music to listen to, I highly recommend these guys. Very accessible (so long as you're not offended by the subject matter) and very energetic while not being exhausting. They've been voted "Best Live Act" from Spin and a lot of reviews of their music I hear talks about their live shows somehow. This is definitely the best album to test the waters because it's the shortest, so if it's not your thing you're not out much time and it's their newest, so it at least gives you an idea of where the band is going.