Dave Alvin summed up his work as well as anyone could when he quipped, “There are two types of folk music: quiet folk music and loud folk music. I play both.” Alvin shows off his skill on both sides of the volume divide on 2011's Eleven Eleven, where he reaffirms his status as one of the best and most distinctive American songwriters alive. There are few artists who can match Alvin's gift for creating vivid characters and bringing their lives to life through music, and Eleven Eleven finds him near the top of his game as a tunesmith, while also showing off his estimable skills as a guitarist. Whether he's digging into the dirty details of Johnny Ace's death in 1954, embodying a man who may kill a powerful politician for money, focusing his powers of seduction on one woman in a dirty nightgown, or swapping stories of an old friend's adventures on both sides of the law, Alvin's lyrics give the people he sings about depth and detail, and they're crafted with the skill of a talented novelist. Alvin also knows what sort of background to give to these stories, and the spectral guitar and accordion accompaniment of “No Worries Mija” feels just as right as the bluesy Bo Diddley stomp of “Run Conejo Run,” and Alvin's electric guitar solos – crisp, sharp, and bracing – are as potent as he's been in years. And longtime fans will get a special kick out of “What's Up with Your Brother?,” in which he swaps verses with his brother and former bandmate Phil Alvin and pokes fun at their combative reputation. Hearing Dave Alvin at work is to hear a man who is both a poet and a craftsman and remarkably gifted at both; Eleven Eleven shows he's a long way away from running out of ideas, and these 11 portraits of life in the Golden State are engrossing, thoughtful music that should satisfy old fans and engage those introducing themselves to his work for the first time. ~ Mark Deming Dave Alvin turns it up. The intensity, the focus, the volume. On Alvin's new album Eleven Eleven, the man who many credit with pioneering what has come to be known as ‘roots rock,’ revisits the burning, guitar-centered blues rock that initially defined his career along with his band The Blasters in the late 1970s. After The Blasters, Alvin explored the path of American folk music, a road that led to classic albums and Grammy wins (for his album Public Domain: Songs from the Wild Land), establishing him as one of America's most distinguished songwriters and California's de facto roots music ambassador. Fast forward to Eleven Eleven and Dave is ready to raise the stakes again, calling on some Blasters including his brother Phil, with whom he duets for the first time ever on record. The inaugurals continue with Dave writing all the songs while on the road touring, a first for the seasoned performer. The new method clearly sparked new ideas for Alvin, with the blistering guitar runs and Bo Diddley beat of Run Conejo Run sidling up alongside the gentle finger-picking of the tremolo-soaked No Worries Mija. '' Eleven Eleven also features ''Harlan County Line, the song featured, along with an Alvin cameo as himself, in FX original series Justified and Alvin's highest and fastest-selling digital single ever.