In "Test My Faith," Good Citizen ranges across America (or "Ameri-kay," as in one song's lyrics) musically, geographically, politically, and theologically. Many of the songs explore the folkways of this nation's fading rural landscapes: the haunting opener "Strange Little Man," with its beautifully droning dulcimer, concludes with the loss of the family farm. Other songs consider the assaults of commercial exploitation in similarly downhome terms – the wry two-step of "The Well Has Run Dry" – or through pungent rock, which underscores the uncreation myth of "Seven Days" with shrewd echoes of Blue Oyster Cult's "Godzilla" in Gene Whitright's bass line. The triumph of nature over misguided human design is also honored in the pedal-steel-driven "When the Hills Are Ablaze," featuring sweet interplay between vocals by Dina Predisik and Whitright. Belief, unbelief, and their abuses are the subjects of "Spirit Talk" and the title track, "Test My Faith," both of which decry uncritical acceptance (and imposition) of self-serving creeds. Perhaps the most intriguing take on religion can be found in the divinity represented by "Bodie Man" who takes Good Citizen into Los Lobos territory (with roots in some of Ray Davies's satiric songs for the Kinks) with the help of Carrie Barrios's sax work. Barrios later supplies tin whistle for the overtly political tunes "Valley of Shame" and "Capitol Steps," which use the form of Irish ballads to indict elected officials for hapless foreign and domestic policies. "Letter to City Hall" is also political, but moves into the vein of disillusioned folk-rock. The Zevonesque "It's a Day" stays in that idiom, shifting its sights from the governmental to the personal as its target. Similarly, Good Citizen applies shrewd social commentary to individual behavior in the wistful but deeply ironic "Children of the Dark" and the hilariously brutal, throbbing "Don’t Push." The best punk bands have always been credited with making us dance and making us think; Good Citizen can proudly wave aloft their post-punk flag. Lemme hear ya say "Arrrrgh!"