WHY?  
The Well I Fell Into 
(Waterlines) 
★★★★

“I USED to be married/Now I drag around the ring on a sling in a barrel of salt.” Confessional, literate and blackly funny, the first words of The Well I Fell Into are a good example of what makes bandleader Yoni Wolf such a special talent. 

That and the singular brand of indie hip hop he has been playing for close to three decades. Oh, and his nasally laidback drawl too.  

Very much a break-up album, the forty-something Cincinnati native describes it as autofiction. Brand New finds him struggling to get out of bed.

“Please God someone tell me what to do,” goes the chorus. On The Letters Etc he describes himself as “a can of Coke flattened by a thousand cars.” 

It’s also full of poppy hooks and fresh, burbling electronica-influenced sounds, making it a fantastic listen. 

Johnny Blue Skies 
Passage Du Desir 
(High Top Mountain) 
★★★★

STURGILL SIMPSON certainly keeps things interesting. Having made his name as a country musician, in 2019 the US navy veteran released Sound & Fury, a blistering set of hard-driving psychedelic-synth rock, alongside an anime film he co-wrote, before making two albums of bluegrass. 

Now working under the alter ego Johnny Blue Skies, Passage Du Desir is a return to the cosmic country of his 2016 Grammy award-winning record A Sailor’s Guide To Earth. 

The songwriting and music is outstanding, especially on the unhurried If The Sun Never Rises Again and lengthy closer One For The Road. Simpson’s warm baritone brings to mind Outlaw Country greats like Willie Nelson and Waylon Jennings. Surprisingly, Nottingham’s Jake Bugg is listed as contributing acoustic guitar to the songs.  

Soulful and melancholic, the Kentucky native remains at the top of his game. 

Chris Cohen 
Paint A Room 
(Hardly Art) 
★★★

PREVIOUSLY a member of US experimental rock Deerhoof, US singer-songwriter Chris Cohen’s new album is full of little surprises. 

So while opener Damage kicks off with what sounds like a grand ’60s jazz intro, he excels in creating downbeat, unassuming melodic indie music that puts him dead centre of a Venn diagram consisting of the Pitchfork music website and the largely apolitical End Of The Road festival. 

Another surprise: Cohen says Damage concerns “the many forms of state violence” such as the police, prisons and military, which we are told “are necessary to ensure peace… but I’ve come to see that it’s actually the opposite.” 

Elsewhere the shimmering Wishing Well trills along to the sound of ’80s-style jangly guitar, while the poppy Sunever was written for a transgender child in his life. “You’re gonna find a way,” he intones.