Chore of Enchantment is no less than the eighteenth long player from Giant Sand - the most enduring and innovative trio you'll find in the pantheon of twisted alt-country legends.

Chore Of Enchantment sucks you down into one hell of an odd vortex. Just when you think 'Temptation Of Egg' is seemingly standard bar stool introspection, a clanging freakout of the dirtiest, dankest growl of a distorted steel guitar sinks its teeth into the mix.

The lyrical territory peers into every corner of harrowing loneliness imaginable, a one-way journey into hell on earth that opens with an image of a man alone "who sits slumped and doesn't know what to do", and ends with the unsettling confession "last night I got wasted/So I could end the day" ('Way To End The Day').

Chore Of Enchantment is one of those all too rare albums that is executed with gorgeously cracked passion.

It's country all right - but not one anyone has ever been to before.