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Letting it all out - Runaway Planet puts their pain and suffering on display on Tarnation. + Enlarge

Heartache is simply the result of one person refusing to love another. It's the mind and soul's inability to deal with that messy fact that causes anguish, and people intensify their emotional burdens by declining to cleanly break with the past.

I find myself writing this amateur hypothesis while listening to "Three Letters (And Wine Stains)" from Little Rock bluegrass outfit Runaway Planet's sophomore album Tarnation. Written by the band's mandolin player Ben Ellis and sung by the quartet's bassist Michael Proveaux, the narrator in the rustic, mournful number remembers his former love by the wine stains on the carpet and three unread letters in a shoebox sitting on a shelf. By possessing the last scraps of a dead relationship, the narrator self-inflicts his suffering, but while the letters cause pain they also hold memories of better days.

It's a vicious circle the narrator refuses to escape, but the frolicking banjo of Steve Brauer, shuffling acoustic guitar of Greg Alexander and the steady thump-thump-thump of Proveaux allow the distressful tale to boogie. It's a beautiful, well-written heartache tune, a track with a devastated soul but dancing feet.

The 12 tracks of Tarnation deliver similar anguishing lyrics, with tunes such as "Love's Left Behind" and "Laura Jones." And the album's cover is a reproduction of a frightful wood engraving from Harper's Weekly in 1889 revealing the trees, houses and humans that were swept from the face of the earth in the resulting deluge and fire of the Johnstown Flood.

But never has it been more fun to dance to such pain and suffering. Recorded at Poynter's Palace in North Little Rock by Barry Poynter (a member of Gunbunnies in the '80s), Tarnation's tunes are administered in a brisk, energetic 37 minutes. It's an album of intricate musical interplay, bewitching three-part harmonies and foot-tapping, back-porch sing-along tunes never overbearing in conveying its tales of woe and hardship.

Good: Formed in 2001 from mutual friendships and an appreciation of traditional bluegrass such as Bill Monroe and The Stanley Brothers, and influenced by progressive bluegrass bands such as The Country Gentlemen and The Seldom Scene, Runaway Planet released their debut album, No Part Of Nothin', in 2004. The tight friendship and seven-years of playing experience is apparent on Tarnation, as the quartet shares the musical spotlight and splits the songwriting, with Alexander writing three tunes, Proveaux two, and Brauer and Ellis one apiece.

No one musician steps out and dominates the limelight, but instead the three primary musicians lock in step and propel the songs to bluegrass heaven at a punkish pace. But Proveaux's bass work is the album's unsung hero, as his trio of bandmates fly around, he builds a solid foundation with his deep, booming bass lines. Although Alexander and Proveaux divvy the lead vocals, the duo is joined by Brauer to create soulful vocal harmonies, forging grace even from dark lyrics such as "Or hang from the neck til I die" ("Love's Left Behind").

For all the complex instrumentation of Tarnation (with Brauer's banjo darting and Ellis' mandolin elegantly sliding in and out of the tracks), it's the lyrics and the stories they create of hardship ("Used to Live by the River," a tune written by Little Rock musician Michael Goodrich), lost chances ("Holdin' On") and giving up on love ("Wrong") that are the heart of Tarnation. Without words it's just self-gratification, and Runaway Planet's imagery of murderers and flood victims come alive like mini-novels.

And the quartet's cover of the traditional "Wayfaring Stranger", a favorite of bluegrass legend Bill Monroe? Truly magical, with Ellis' mandolin tremolos, Brauer's anchoring banjo rhythms and Alexander's world-weary vocals echoing the stranger's journey to Jordan.

Bad: The band wrote 12 of the 14 tunes on No Part of Nothin'. With three years between albums and a greater maturity in their songwriting prowess, Tarnation should reflect that growth and not rely so much on covers and traditional tunes (five of the album's 12 songs).

The band's reworking of "Workin' On a Building" falls flat in its high-speed, punkish second half. A traditional bluegrass/gospel favorite recorded by artists from Elvis Presley to Cowboy Junkies, it seems as though the band tires of the tune's rustic rhythms and rushes through the song, stripping it of its spirituality. (Check out Rev. Louis Overstreet's version for a frantic yet splendid version of the tune.)

The five minutes invested in "Workin' On a Building" would've been better used on "Woman With the Devil Inside," a plaintive Proveaux prayer that deserves a closer look.

Must haves: "Holdin' On," "Love's Left Behind," "Used to Live by the River," "Wayfaring Stranger," "Three Letters (And Wine Stains)," "Laura Jones," "Woman With the Devil Inside"

Rating (out of five): 4