I remember very well the cassette tape I bought in 1991 of the Archers of Loaf’s first album, “Icky Mettle.” I loved it so much. A friend who had seen the band in its home state of North Carolina had told me I absolutely had to buy the record, and he was right. From the minute I heard band leader Eric Bachmann come in with the first line of the first song — “I stuck a pin in your backbone” — I was hooked.

It was youthful, tuneful, snarky-as-hell Southern punk rock.

Twenty-seven years later, it’s striking to hear how Bachmann's music has evolved. In 2016, his self-titled solo album landed on our Best Southern Albums of the Year list, and it was a joy to hear how Bachmann had moved from guitar skronk to something that sounded almost like the Beach Boys’ “Pet Sounds.” Now, with his latest, “No Recover,” Bachmann has made another smart sonic shift.

The record is beautifully restrained, anchored mostly by Bachmann’s classical guitar plus a few guest vocal appearances and some help from guitarist Eric Johnson, Bachmann’s old pal from their Archers of Loaf days. Since he settled with his family in Athens, Georgia, Bachmann's lyrics have sharpened, become more adult. He is able to boil down the essential question of any couple’s relationship into the most straightforward possible chorus:

Everybody needs someone to count on,

You can count on me.

Everybody needs someone to count on,

Can I count on you?

Too damned many musicians have hard times growing up at all. Which is why we have to treasure the ones who mature and bring their music with them, so that it reflects who they are now instead of the glory days of youth. For that reason, The Bitter Southerner is happy to bring you a first listen of Eric Bachmann’s “No Recover” on Chapel Hill’s Merge Records. You can pick the album up at your local record store on Friday. — Chuck Reece