Hayes Carll works in the hallowed tradition of smart-aleck Texas singer/songwriters (like Ray Wylie Hubbard, who co-wrote one song here) whose shaggy-dog stories always seem to have a poetic twist. The 12 originals on Trouble in Mind—which also sports well-chosen covers of Tom Waits and Scott Nolan tunes—are populated by lovable tipplers who idealize women and either overthink or underthink everything else in life. To hear the full force of Hayes’ mischievous wit, skip directly to the hilariously offensive closing track, “She Left Me for Jesus,” in which a sozzled redneck laments his girlfriend’s untimely conversion.