Jung Min-Noh’s verbosely-titled new album is, at its core, a vehicle for the insightful, clever, and engrossing lyrics. Some of these songs rollick, others flat-out rock, and a couple hold the instrumentation to a minimum. Yet the laconic baritone of the vocals remain centered and out in front, all the better to hear the turns of phrase, the satisfying rhymes, and the universal truths.

It’s Never too Late spins seven vignettes from observations and scenes rooted in our tortured times. The music is Americana-adjacent, with a definite lean towards the rootsier side of rock. Occasional narrative structures in the lyrics strengthen that label, yet the vocals hold more drawl than twang. Occasionally it sounds as if Isaac Brock were holding court in a saloon. And while the lyrics are generally less obtuse than Modest Mouse’s, the existential angst and occasional dynamics lift it closer to the indie side of the spectrum.

As with the vocals, all the instruments are presented in a relatively straightforward way. Guitars shimmer with subtle tones, and the rhythm section capably holds down the low end. Every note has a purpose and plays its role, providing an ideal canvas upon which the vocals can do its picture-painting.

Despite the longwinded title and the doomsday dread of the lyrics, the band keeps things lively and the songs achieve a delightful degree of levity. The use of internal rhyme in the lyrics makes for a consistently uplifting listening experience, even when the tone of the words is a total downer. Take this verse from “The Big Goodbye” – “Now the angel she’s mangled, her harp string’s tangled / round her crooked fingertips. / Refill the cotton swabs, the violin sobs / to the beat of an IV drip.” A fallen angel, the music gone out, health care. There aren’t many more morose things to sing about, yet Jung Min-Noh seems intent to remind us that these are just aspects of the big messy world we’re all living in, and ain’t it fun to spin round and round?