If anyone thought that the transition that Cable made from 90's pioneers of chaotic, angular metalcore to the Southern rock influenced noise-rock of Northern Failures was a surprising one, then wait until you hear what the band has reconfigured themselves as with The Failed Convict, Cable's first new album in more than five years. The 'oughts have seen these Connecticut ragers rousted by a series of lineup issues that had 'em throwing in the towel not long after the release of 2004's Pigs Never Fly, and I thought that was going to be it for this long-running outfit. Lo and behold, 2009 brings us a brand new disc from a newly revitalized Cable, and with a revamped lineup and newfound urgency, they've cranked out not only the most energetic and accessible album of their career, but a fucking concept album to boot, following a narrative about the cross-country travels of an escaped convict named Jim. Fans of Cable's past albums have alot to chew on here; the thirteen songs are full of the massive swampy sludge grooves and muscular noise-rock riffage that made up the bulk of their post-Hydra Head stuff, showing that Cable haven't gone soft in the least. But the sludge has been dialed down a bit, with more of an emphasis on huge hooks and even some clean vocals that show up throughout the album - surprisingly, they pull this off really well, injecting a moody, super catchy post-hardcore quality into songs like "Welcome To Dickson", and the song "Outside Abilene" sounds like early 90's alt-rock with clean croon of Christian McKenna, who some of you might recognize as the frontman from Translation Loss indie/country rockers Slacks!. Sounds weird, but the catchier, more melodic rock songs on here are really good, and the way that the band shifts back and forth between the heavier southern-tinged Unsane crunch and these alt-rock anthems makes this album sound pretty unique, colossal riffs and sludgy heaviness leading into instantly infectious rock, and everything flecked with bits of Western twang, complex mathiness, forlorn minor-key piano, stark Across Tundras-style strum, sparse blues, and pounding alt-riffage that reminds me of Barkmarket at times. Some longtime fans of the band might Cable's new sound too melodic, but me, I think this is the best album the band's ever done. Highly recommended, extremely listenable.