The Phil Nicolo-produced and New West-issued tenth studio long-player from New York-based poet and folk-punk veteran Ed Hamell, the aptly named Tackle Box takes aim at a host of 21st century grievances, from racism and regret, to illness and partisan politics.

As per usual, Hamell's acerbic and (more often than not) blisteringly funny slams and observations are sparsely accompanied -- outside of a Donald Trump sample heard at the outset of the satiric immigration anti-anthem "Safe," Hamell earns the album's sole credit.

Politics loom large, but aging and social media also unearth deep deposits of ire.

He tackles both parenting and police violence on the sardonic "Not Aretha's Respect (Cops)" via a recurring chorus of "Hey Fuckface, I'm trying to teach my kid there's some authority that needs to be respected, but we have no respect for you.

Now I'm trying to teach him to not get shot," and takes it a step further on the blistering school shooting/NRA takedown "Bodyguard Blanket." It's heady stuff for sure, but there's a beating heart behind its deployment.

Tackle Box sees Hamell once again peering into the cultural, social, and political divides of his American homeland and trying to suss out why it all went to sh#t, but he's been in the game long enough now that his wisdom is seasoned with vitriol, as opposed to the other way around.