Review: JD McPherson ‘Nite Owls’

Review: JD McPherson ‘Nite Owls’

By Hal Horowitz

A lot has changed since six years ago when we last heard original music from Oklahoma roots rocker JD McPherson. Of course there was a pandemic that slowed things to a halt, but he recorded a rollicking Christmas album of all self-penned tunes in 2018 and a covers EP. More crucially, he opened dates for, and played in, Robert Plant and Alison Krauss’ band on their extensive multi-year tour, raising his profile considerably.

For Nite Owls, his much anticipated recorded return (released Sept. 27), the singer/songwriter/guitarist alters his approach. He sidelines the majority of the musicians that accompanied him on all previous sessions and live dates, keeping only guitarist/sax player Doug Corcoran (who doesn’t play sax on this set).

Along with that change in personnel, comes a revised style that attempts, usually successfully, to incorporate McPherson’s Duane Eddy-fashioned guitar (the album is dedicated to the late rockabilly icon who passed in May of this year) with a moderately new-wave infused sound.

As if realizing this might alienate some fans, McPherson keeps one foot in the rockabilly/60s musical mentality that put him on the map. Songs such as the chugging, Gene Vincent-styled “I Can’t Go Anywhere With You,” that might have some current political insinuations in the lyrics of “Eddie was the wealthiest man in the nation/Fortune mistaken for sophistication/Poor Eddie, he had none,” and the Ventures-inspired surf instrumental “The Phantom of New Rochelle” could have been on any of his three earlier discs.

On “Shining Like Gold,” he borrows a page from Chris Isaak’s playbook of smooth, sexy retro reverbed guitar ballads. JD shifts to falsetto singing “I don’t care if it’s ‘til we’re gone or just for one night/All I know is that you shine like gold in the glow of my dashboard light” as a baritone guitar echoes with the vibes of The Shadows. Even the title of “The Rock and Roll Girls” exudes a 60s sensibility defined by a Dave Edmunds motivated revved-up beat, replete with handclaps.

But on the opening clomping “Sunshine Getaway,” which promotional notes correctly describe as hewing to a T. Rex/glam mindset, McPherson expands his boundaries into logical terrain, albeit areas he hasn’t explored previously. The title track takes a drive straight onto The Cars’ highway with throbbing synths behind shimmering six-string work referencing an earlier era.

The creeping bass and heart-beating drum grounding “Don’t Travel Though the Night Alone,” warning a lover that “You’ll never make it, baby/The way is strange, the stars are wrong” apply an ominous, even gloomy sheen to a foreboding tune. It also grows McPherson’s sonic palette but not too far outside his established parameters.

The closing muted ballad with tinkling piano “That’s What a Love Song Does to You,” wades into Beach Boys “Surfer Girl” waters. It ends this eclectic album on a somber musical note and an unsettling, even gruesome, lyrical one as McPherson sings in a hushed voice “Weary soldier in his room/Bloodied as a butcher’s broom/When your heart breaks there’s no telling what you’ll do.” Yikes.

With only 10 songs on Nite Owls, totaling just over a half hour, JD McPherson tentatively explores new territory and a path forward while staying linked to the roots sounds his followers have come to expect.

Pre-order the album HERE

“Sunshine Getaway”