Billy Bragg’s 1996 album William Bloke is the sound of a once-overconfident young man reflecting on the self-doubts and self-consciousness of middle age. In the past, Bragg had presented his personal and political views without hesitation. But here—after a five-year silence following 1991’s Don’t Try This at Home—Bragg comes to terms with a world that’s either leaving him behind or spiraling out of control. A parent himself, he observes the changes in his married friends with caution and chagrin in “From Red to Blue” and recalls his unrealized childhood dreams in “The Space Race Is Over.” There’s a somber resiliency to the melodies, and while “Upfield” is spiked with a celebratory horn arrangement and a perfect Bragg-esque battle cry (“I’ve got a socialism of the heart”), many of the tunes are haunted by a sense of futility, whether it’s the dull anonymity of “Northern Industrial Town” or the "money changes everything" scheme behind “Sugardaddy.” Bragg acknowledges that the truth often hurts.