The Bottle Rockets have a reputation built on a rough and tumble snarl honed by a thousand nights on stages around the world. But that only speaks to part of their story. Not So Loud, recorded in an acoustic setting at a 19th century schoolhouse in their home base of St. Louis, reveals a body of work steeped in the history of, and fitting easily into, the finest traditions of American folk music. It is a dimension of the Bottle Rockets easily overlooked when you're getting caught up in their riffs that tap so easily into our musical DNA, but it is an entirely fresh inroad to the strengths in their songwriting and musicianship.