Loudon Wainwright III - Little Ship (1997)

Little Ship is another solid entry in Loudon Wainwright III's series of '90s records cataloguing his domestic travails. There are a few weak moments and a tendency to be a little cutesy, but these hardly derail the album, because Wainwright is a journeyman who knows how to write sturdy songs. His sharp eye for lyrical detail makes the household songs ring, which is the key to Little Ship: the pleasure is in the details, whether it's the lyrics or the melodies, and that's why it's a diary piece worth investigating.