Cult hero Jim Bob aka James Neil Morrison had nothing left to prove after his acclaimed work with Carter USM and Jamie Wednesday, yet he’s adding another dimension to his 20+ year solo career. This week he released not one but two new studio albums, Automatic and Stick (I was planning to share the best one here, but both are so good I can’t choose), two sets of eleven songs that blend punchy alt-rock and melodic power pop into soulful pop-punk.

Automatic is the more subdued of the pair, featuring powerful ballads packed with memorable characters and wry observations on modern life. Stick turns up the amps and snarls in scathing and energetic tracks, although there is also room for poignancy. The rhythm section and guitars hit all the right notes, but it’s the sharp observations and the imaginative storytelling that keeps the listener glued to the speakers. The British singer-songwriter inimitably links “cheese and onion in a beard and mustache” to “exchanging details like drivers in a crash” (in Lovers Rock), but you’ll hear much more exceptional wordplay.

Automatic and Stick—both of course packaged in colorful cover art—are out now digitally, on CD and vinyl LP, through Cherry Red Records.

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp || Cherry Red || Discogs