Haircare for Assholes is like wandering through an abandoned house on a hill at the end of a desolate field on a stormy day. It’s bare and eerie, but tells a unique story.

“Love Song from Lee Harvey Oswald to Jackie Kennedy” is the equivalent to the creaky, cracked wooden door you hesitantly push open as you immerse yourself into the album. It’s tense with just a single guitar line playing. Albert DeMuth’s vocals are equally as dark and unsettling. But as the guitar line becomes less grim temporarily, Demuth’s words seem more welcoming than cautionary.

“Football Season is Over” follows. You’re now curiously making your way through the winding corridors of Haircare for Assholes. It’s peculiar in an oddly charming and familiar way. This song is a little less simplistic with layers of twangy, crying riffs over subtle chords which create a tune that’s pleasant and yet a tad melancholy.

What Demuth has managed to execute perfectly is this haunting balance between intricate instrumental parts and his deep, simplistic vocals blended into the framework of each song. In a way, that balance highlights the vocals more than hides them because of the stark difference in sound (esp. exemplified in “Scorched Earth”)

By the time you reach the 11-minute final track, “What Cheer?”, you’re doing one last tour around the hollow house. You’ve experienced the stories told in DeMuth’s voice through his candid lyrics and dark folk undertones. You leave peacefully, but hairs stand up on the back of your neck (in a rather agreeable manner) due to the hauntingly artful memories of your journey through Haircare for Assholes.