Whether fronting his hard-rocking band The Hold Steady or out on his own, Craig Finn pens empathetic and funny short stories about down-and-out losers, hard-up hoodrats, and sketchy minor criminals. His third solo album, We All Want the Same Things, finds his characters in positions that will feel familiar to longtime listeners—worst-case scenarios, wrecked sadness, faithful dejection—but this long player is Finn’s sweetest, most satisfying solo outing yet. Teaming, once again, with producer Josh Kaufman, who reached a new legion of fans last year, thanks to his work on Day of the Dead and Bob Weir’s Blue Mountain, the album’s feel is balmy and spontaneous. Often, it brings to mind the skewed melodicism of Summerteeth-era Wilco, melding scrappy and noisy touches with sensitive heartland rock. Though he’s joined by welcome guest including Hold Steady guitarist Tad Kubler and vocalist Caithlin DeMarrais, of the sorely underrated emo outfit Rainer Maria—the focus here is on Finn’s literary voice. Never a straightforward singer, he goes fully spoken-word on “God in Chicago,” but songs like “Ninety Bucks” and the Memphis-soul referencing “Tangletown” showcase the melodic side of his vocal ability. On “Preludes,” Finn offers a rare song drawn in part from his personal  ife. Recognizing in himself so much of what he draws out of his characters, Finn sings, “Fish take to water/ but licenses, they get revoked,” sounding out of sorts as he drifts from bar to bar and gets mugged. He achieves a sort of transcendence—convinced of God’s presence over his life—but takes as much solace in a “place to get sick.” He remains a poet of the high and low.