As a huge fan of the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, I approached this one with the same trepidation I have for all his subsequent releases. A fear of abandonment always seeps into my consciousness when it comes to my favourite artists. I'd never been disappointed yet but, having encountered some reviews that suggested he's toned down his abrasive style for this one, I pressed play for the first time with something approaching dread.
It was totally unwarranted: Spencer has produced one of the albums of the year. If the style is really less abrasive, I'm not hearing it or, at least, any melodic interludes are no different than what this master of the fretboard has produced before. Besides which, Spencer is hardly a stranger to adventures into new musical territories: it underpins his work from Pussy Galore, through the Blues Explosion years, his R.L. Burnside collaboration all the way to the celebrated Sick of Being Sick! in 2024.
But it's all underpinned by that trademark blues-punk collision and that's still the overriding influence here. Sometimes you want your favourite artists to move into new areas and sometimes you just want them to stay the same. Jon Spencer, over more than forty years, has always managed to do both.
You can hear tracks from the album in my latest Dandelion Radio and FSK shows.
Get it here.
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