Bo Armstrong keeps it simple and true on his new album If your tired heart is aching… Armstrong’s sensitive, straightforward Americana is arresting. With his warm voice at the center of each composition, Armstrong’s tales of exhaustion and optimism carry a punch that feels like a tap but leaves a big mark. Each song is exquisite, a flickering candle of hope among forces of darkness. In short, it’s the right album at the right time: we are all trying to find a way to toil through our collective exhaustion, and Armstrong offers a path forward.
If your tired heart is mature. This is not a naive offering of hope. It’s about taking stock of the good things, understanding how the bad built up, and confronting the mess head-on. Amidst songs of failing relationships and midlife crises, there’s also a sense of wonder: through it all, some things turned out alright — and many things can get even better with a little elbow grease. If your tired heart came out in November, and if you missed it, now is the time to check it out. It’s a dram of courage at the beginning of what promises to be another unpredictable year.