let me just say at the outset that this album epitomizes why i started writing this blog in the first place. it demands, and deserves, a wider audience than it is likely to ever get. people often ask me where do i find new music, and i usually respond with my usual sources – friends, radio, amazon recommended lists, music magazines, etc. – but at the end of the day you just have to go find it. great music is out there.

i first heard of jesse malin when a song of his came up on the sirius xm outlaw country station. i immediately took a liking to it and took a picture of the radio with my phone, and stored it away for future reference. and then i saw an article about the new album in american songwriter magazine ( a great source, by the way). i bought it on the day it came out, and i can’t get it out of the cd rotation. it grows on me a little more every time i hear it.

i had never heard of him, but i now know that he came on the new york punk scene in the mid nineties, and is probably most well known as the front man for the legendary punk band d generation, and then went on to collaborate with ryan adams, springsteen, and green day, among others.

he first heard lucinda williams’ voice in 1996 when he listened to her duet with steve earle on ‘you’re still standing there’, and he approached joey ramone about her (they were touring together at the time). joey said he knew her and that he should buy all of her albums. jesse finally met her in 2003 at a charlie watts jazz show in nyc, and they started keeping in touch and sharing lyrics. they met again when he was in the audience for the last tom petty concert, and lucinda was opening for him. they had dinner the next night, and started talking about making an album. lucinda ended up producing it, contributing some songwriting, and sings on three cuts. billie joe armstrong of green day also shares a tune.

all of that is just background and context for what really matters – the songs. i find this to be an excellent example of the blending of outstanding songwriting, catchy and infectious melodies, and a solid backing band. i have not really known lucinda to be a producer, but all of the tracks are well constructed and clean. the genres are varied, but one of my first impressions was that maybe half of the tracks have a jayhawks feel to them. the rest have a bit more of an edge to them, revealing his earlier punk dna, but imbuing them with the wisdom of years on the road and a more mature outlook.

as i mentioned above, it deserves a good listen. i think you will be rewarded. if you don’t like it, i will buy it off of you. he is on tour now, and will be at my favorite haunt, the beachland ballroom, 11/8. hope to see you there.