On 2017’s Not Brandy, Not Whiskey, John Michael Sherry muses on the passage of time while painting landscapes in Ram and Rundgren country. Less dreary than Stephin Merritt, less cloying than Wayne Coyne, the singer balances melancholy leisure with charged sentiment, using the right brushes, colors, and brushstrokes to mark measures and arrange embellishments. Honest reflections fed through shaky harmonies ground the moonglow piano magic of elegant tracks like “Each Day” and “Enough,” making them mortal without breaking the spell. Live, daylight arrives when Sean Lochridge, Declan Murtagh, Austin Perriraz, and Sherry bomb that alchemy with surf-pop psych and amp rock delight.
Thu., Jan. 3, 7pm