Bad Lady Goes to Jail

John Wesley Coleman

Bad Lady Goes to Jail (Goner)

John Wesley Coleman churns out garage rock the same way a seasoned alcoholic passes a field sobriety test – bleary-eyed and at relative ease, but never quite in a straight line. Surely no shortage of bourbon and Lone Star beer fueled the latest solo effort from the Golden Boys focal point, Bad Lady Goes to Jail, a collection of 4am pop tunes at various states of inebriation and completion. Ofttimes there's little more here than a riff and an idea – as with the blunt "Christians Drive Like Shit," cowbell-assisted "Something in My Brain Wants Something," and sloppy hoops ode "Ooh Basketball" – but that's more than enough to work with for Coleman, who has an insatiable knack for hooks and an even sharper wit, both perfectly encapsulated in "Come on Cops." The opening title track firmly places "Sir John" – as Coleman's known to some – in the lo-fi company of his label Goner Records, landing a Buddy Holly yelp somewhere between Reigning Sound's Greg Cartwright and Ty Segall, though the follow-up punch of "Fields of Love" also bears the influence of the late Jay Reatard. "Lazy Baby" and Stones rewrite "Can't Stop Dreaming" conjure the Golden Boys' raucous Memphis R&B; "My Friend Dan" and "Get High Babe" offer blown-out 1960s psychedelia. Bad Lady Goes to Jail may be a scattershot listen, but that's part of the appeal of Coleman, who never plays a song the same way twice.