American Water is one of those albums: when you meet a person and are sussing out their taste in music, you can say with a slightly raised eyebrow, "American Water?" and know in the next three seconds whether or not you will be friends with the recipient of the question. You can see it in their eyes: highway motels, the desert, failed loves and sordid affairs, watering holes and the distant light at the end of a bottle, the self-doubt that comes with isolation and anxiety, the irony and humour that nearly makes it bearable, the silly hope that everything will be alright, the masterful portrait of another America rendered by David Berman with candour, wit and honesty...and one of the best opening lines in an album ever: "In 1984 I was hospitalised for approaching perfection." Amen.