If It's Too Loud...

I'm a huge fan of all of Jon Spencer's many musical projects, but especially Jon Spencer Blues Explosion. It's been just over ten years since I last saw JSBX, which was at the Iron Horse in Northampton. I've seen Spencer twice solo in recent years, but he's stuck to his newer solo work without delving into the classics. They've been great shows, but I was always hoping he'd squeeze in at least one classic song. As soon as it was announced that Spencer was not only going on tour with Kendall Wind and Macky Spider Bowman of The Bobby Lees as his backing band but would be playing songs from JSBX, Pussy Galore, and Boss Hog as well as his solo songs, I knew I had to go. One thing I always noticed with a Jon Spencer Blues Explosion show was that the show would be good for the first half, but not great. Then, about halfway through, it was like a switch was flipped and suddenly everything got amped up infinitely, and you were at one of the best shows you've eve...

Photo by Karla Moheno For his latest single, Jon Spencer teams with Kendall Wind and Spider Bowman of The Bobby Lees and roots music legend Deke Dickerson for "Come On!" The song is described as a "Super-groovy garage-soul-punk protest song," although it's pretty sad that asking people to live their lives without hate is considered political in 2025. This song is pure vintage Spencer, and it's being attacked with an energy and vitality that we haven't seen from the former Blues Explosion frontman in years. This is the kind of protest song that dominated the 60's, but through a garage-soul-punk filter. "Come On!" is a great song that name checks legends such as Mavis Staples, Chuck D, Wayne Kramer, Kathleen Hanna, and more.  You can watch the video for "Come On!" below. The single is out now via Shove Records. For more on Jon Spencer, check out the artist on Instagram and Facebook . Upcoming tour dates are below the video and incl...

I'm a little bit of an obsessive Jon Spencer fan. I've seen Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, Heavy Trash, and Jon Spencer + The HITmakers before, so I'm obviously going to try to see the man every time he comes through the area. With the release of last year's excellent Spencer Gets It Lit , I've watched the band play multiple tours without coming to Boston, or anywhere else I could feasibly get to easily. When he finally announced a Boston show at The Middle East, I couldn't pass it up. An added bonus were two local support bands I'd go see on their own anytime. Muck and the Mires were a perfect opener for Jon Spencer. They have this vintage garage rock sound that could be from anytime in the past six decades. It's the style started in hundreds of garages across America once The Beatles broke out that isn't exactly easy to tie down to a specific time since every generation has a handful of these bands. They're one of those bands that I would have sw...

Photo via Facebook The latest song from Jon Spencer & The HITMakers doesn't really sound like anything Jon Spencer has released before, but still sounds like Jon Spencer. "Worm Town" is this straight up weirdo mostly spoken word groovy psychedelic freak out, but more like a freak out from The Stooges than a jam band would produce. The entire song you're kind of listening and expecting the song to explode into a JSBX burst of punk blues, and a few times "Worm Town" sounds like it's just about to... and then it doesn't. The song has an almost mechanical or conveyor belt feel to it as it plods around meandering slightly. It's an interesting direction for Spencer to go with his new band, and has us even more intrigued about their upcoming album. You can listen to "Worm Town" below. Spencer Gets It Lit is due out April 1 on Shove Records and can be pre-ordered via Bandcamp . For more on Jon Spencer & The HITmakers, check out the band...

In 2022, what the world truly needs is new music from Jon Spencer. We're finally in luck, since after a long four year wait we finally have some! "Junk Man" is the latest from Jon Spencer & the HITmakers. If you've been a fan of Spencer for any length of time or any of his musical projects, this is for you. It has plenty of roots in blues based rock and roll. It's a little softer than the Blues Explosion, but heavier and less roots based than Heavy Trash. Plus, the inclusion of a keyboard gives this a vintage garage rock feel. It's the kind of song you'd hear on a Nuggets compilation, which is perfectly suited to Jon Spencer and his whole vibe. You can watch the video for "Junk Man" below. Spencer Gets It Lit  is due out on April 1 via Shove Records, and can be pre-ordered on Bandcamp. For more on Jon Spencer & the HITmakers, check out the band's Facebook and Twitter . Upcoming tour dates with Quasi are below the video. Hopefully the...

As we continue to be worked into a frenzy over The Bobby Lees's upcoming Jon Spencer produced album, we now bring you a new single, "Move." "Move" is a frantic slice of garage punk. Clocking in at less than two minutes long, it's fast and noisy. It's over before you even know it, leaving you desperate for more. It may seem impossible that a song this short can be this good and leave this much of an impact on the listener. You're going to be left wondering what the hell you just went through, but pretty sure that you liked it. You can watch the video for "Move" below. Skin Suit , the new album from The Bobby Lees, will be out May 8 on Alive Naturalsound Records. For more on The Bobby Lees, check out their website .

Any time you go see a new project from one of your long time favorites, it's natural to worry about what the show will be like. I've seen far too many shows where a musician hires a band half their age to crank out songs with no emotion or sense of joy. Of course, this is Jon Spencer. There will never be anything to worry about with a live Jon Spencer performance.   Jon Spencer + The HITMakers is similar enough to fans of Jon Spencer Blues Explosion but different enough to warrant a new project. The band consists of Jon Spencer on guitar along with a drummer, a percussionist, and a keyboard player. His new backing band is age appropriate, though. The percussionist is Bob Bert, Sonic Youth's drummer for Confusion is Sex through Death Valley 69.  And by percussionist I mean he hit metal objects with hammers. The band busted out most of Spencer's fantastic 2018 album Spencer Songs the Hits! Definite highlights from the new material were "Ghost" and "Do t...

Based on The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, Boss Hog, and Heavy Trash, you would assume you'd know exactly what solo Jon Spencer would sound like. He's been doing his own blend of hyped up punk blues or stylized rockabilly for decades now. On the first single from his solo album, there are hints of his classic sounds, but just a hint. The guitar solos are 100% his. That sound didn't go anywhere. But while his other bands always have a sense of being a bit tongue in cheek, "I Got the Hits" is straight forward rock. Of course, by rock I mean middle aged groovy punk, but it's much more palatable to mainstream audiences than anything he's released before, while still being good enough to satisfy his long time fans. You can watch the video for "I Got the Hits" below. Spencer Sings the Hits! will be released on November 2 on In the Red Records. You can pre-order your copy here . 

Photo via Facebook The latest in an ever growing (and very welcome!) list of bands releasing their first album in XX years, husband and wife band (Cristina Martinez and Jon Spencer) are back with "Formula X," the first song off of their first full length album in 17 years. "Formula X" will be exactly what you need it to be. It's full of attitude, even though the punk side of Boss Hog is turned down just the slightest bit and the dance/groove is ramped up. It's not a huge difference, though. Boss Hog was always a pretty danceable band. It's a very welcome return from one of NYC's most underrated bands. Boss Hog's new album, Brood X , will be available March 24 on Bronze Rat Records. Make sure to pre-order a copy here . You can listen to "Formula X" below. For more on Boss Hog, check them out on Facebook . Their current tour dates are below the song. 02/03 –  London , UK @ Oslo Hackney 02/04 –  Maastricht , Netherlands @ Muziekg...