Mark Knopfler does it again… with a beautiful, thoughtful, nuanced set on Kill to Get Crimson. There’s no straight-up Money-for-Nothing-style rockers on this disc; instead, Knopfler delivers his trademark character sketches of world-weary tradesmen (prizefighters, tattoo artists, tinkers, etc.) with a spare, muted elegance. Fully half of the tracks are written in 3/4 waltz time, something most guitar heroes couldn’t pull off, but here it lends a sweetly nostalgic folk-y feeling. Knopfler’s lyrics are as pointed as ever… in particular, “Punish the Monkey” (a sardonic ditty about a corporate flunky left holding the bag for his boss) is such a wry turn of phrase that one hopes it will enter the general lexicon. Get the album now.