3 1/2 Stars!

Sensitive singer/songwriter for the leather jacket crowd

Itinerant singer/songwriter Colin Spring may strum an acoustic guitar and sing songs of social consciousness but he’s not about to ditch his leather jacket. His raucous punk aesthetic and rock and roll heart drive these songs beyond sentiment, adding a fierce, defiant edge to even the most plaintive confession. Album opener “Joe McCarthy Is Sweeping Off His Grave” rips along with a rollicking Blonde On Blonde guitar/organ carnival lope and topical song rage, but tracks like “Does She Still?” and “November” best represent Spring’s street-tough purple heart. Here, he recalls the pensive, acoustic side of Peter Laughner (rocket from the Tombs, Pere Ubu) with songs of Dionysian indulgence and pining nostalgia. Spring is joined by an able cast of Norhwestern indie rock underdogs. Most notably The Walkabouts’ Carl Torgerson, who harmonizes without sweetness during the rugged doom of “Lover, There’s A Light On”. Rob O’Conner