One of the joys of any
JD McPherson
album is discovering how he manages to further transform his ever-churning blend of vintage-inspired influences. 2024's
Nite Owls
is no expectation and finds the Oklahoma-bred singer and songwriter conjuring a cooly philosophical, tube-amp-textured sound that blends twangy surf rock and baritone guitar atmospherics with buzzy, '70s glitter rock. The album, which is his fifth and follows 2018's holiday-themed
Socks
, arrives on the heels of a fertile period, one that found him touring alongside icons like
Nick Lowe
as well as
Robert Plant
and
Alison Krauss
and even serving as the latter's lead guitarist while on the road. On
, he manages to pull all of these varied experiences and influences together in a cohesive way that's unmistakably his own.
McPherson
produced the album himself, largely recording in Chicago with longtime drummer/multi-instrumentalist and engineer
Alex Hall
. They are joined by the rest of his regular touring ensemble, including guitarist/multi-instrumentalist
Doug Corcoran
, bassist
Beau Sample
, and keyboardist
Chad Copelin
. Also supplying potent backing vocals on three tracks is maverick Canadian rocker
Bloodshot Bill
. Together, they dig into
's songs, crafting tactile, analog arrangements full of wiry, overdriven electric guitar riffs, ringing Farfisa organ accents, and drum and bass rhythms that rumble like a wide-open hot rod engine. There's a strong garage rock-meets-glitter rock vibe running through the album, as on the opening "Sunshine Getaway," a slippery
T. Rex
-style groover that somehow manages to simultaneously illuminate the rockabilly influence that initially inspired
Marc Bolan
, while also sounding totally fresh. The song also lays out
's emotional state of mind as someone stuck, both physically and metaphorically, in the middle of the U.S.A. and who yearns for a sunnier, brighter tomorrow. He sings, "If I would've left town, I might'v¿ gone somewhere" and later implores his neighbor to, "Drag me out of the state I'm in/I need a tropical breeze over sun-kissed skin." It's a lyrically wry and infectiously fun, time-bending trick
pulls throughout
, updating the twangy power pop of
's
Rockpile
on "I Can't Go Anywhere with You" and marrying the low E-string surf melodies of bands like
the Surfaris
the Ventures
with the anthemically romantic '80s new wave of
Blondie
, as he does on "Sunshine Summer" and "The Rock and Roll Girls." If there is a musical through line to
, it is that big-wave surf sound, one he pushes to the forefront on "The Phantom of New Rochelle," a sparkling instrumental rife with reverb-land guitars that crash and spin against each other like surfers in moonlight. Philosophically, the album feels loosely inspired by
Edward Hopper
's 1942 painting Nighthawks, in which diner patrons smoke and drink coffee in what feels like a lonely, noirish reverie. With
,
has crafted his own rock & roll dream, where townies stuck in the middle of nowhere imagine roads and waves not taken. ~ Matt Collar