That World’s Gone Wrong is Lucinda Williams’ 16th studio album is a striking fact to consider. This new record, an unapologetically topical undertaking, benefits from the enduring creative clarity of Williams and the potent energies of the band she’s assembled. It’s out January 23 through Highway 20 Records and Thirty Tigers.

Lucinda Williams hit the scene modestly but solidly with a pair of LPs for Folkways: Ramblin’ on My Mind, released in 1979, and Happy Woman Blues from the following year. The contents established her as one of the earliest examples of Americana, a sound (indeed a genre) she would continue to refine and help to define.

A self-titled third LP, issued in 1988 by Rough Trade, raised her profile a bit and included “Passionate Kisses,” which won Williams her first Grammy award through its cover by Mary Chapin Carpenter, a sizable hit in 1992. However, Williams remained somewhat underappreciated as a performer, at least until her two ensuing albums, Sweet Old World from 1992 and especially Car Wheels on a Gravel Road from 1988, brought record sales and tours to match the critical acclaim.

Williams has been building on that momentum ever since, but primarily through album sales, as her work maintains an edge that’s kept her from making too big a splash on the singles charts. This is notable when considering her ability as a songwriter and her continued vitality as a singer, even as her voice has matured. Disinterested in the safety of pigeonholing, Williams has collaborated with jazz saxophonist Charles Lloyd and UK punk survivors The Mekons.

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We’ve closed TVD’s HQ for the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday. While we’re away, why not fire up our Record Store Locator app and visit one of your local indie record stores?

Perhaps there’s an interview, review, or feature you might have missed? Catch up, and we’ll see you back here tomorrow, 1/20.

VIA PRESS RELEASE | “I first saw Jimmy and the Coral Reefers in 1977 and then moved to Key West shortly thereafter. Having known many of the first Reefers for several years, I felt the band’s origin story needed to be preserved. Once we started the interviews, their collective sentiments about life in the ’70s, their time on the road, in the studio and their feelings about Jimmy, I knew we had captured lightning in a bottle. My goal in making the film was to help preserve the band’s origin story, capture the essence of that era and pay tribute to how Key West had permeated their souls.” —John H. Cunningham, Director

Occupational Hazard: The First Coral Reefers, a feature documentary that traces the origins and evolution of Jimmy Buffett’s original Coral Reefer Band during the 1970s and early 1980s, will premiere at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival on February 9th, with a second screening on February 13th. Narrated by Academy Award winner Jeff Bridges, the documentary features commentary from Kenny Chesney, Mac McAnally, songwriter Keith Sykes as well as many original Coral Reefer band members and touring crew.

The First Coral Reefers were a group of wildly talented, often unruly characters whose creative energy and personal chemistry helped define Buffett’s most iconic early work. Occupational Hazard is directed by John H. Cunningham, who has a deep and close connection to several members of the first Coral Reefers as well as to a lifelong affinity to Jimmy Buffett, as their paths crossed many times, beginning in the Florida Keys in the 1970s.

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Celebrating Jim Stafford on his 82nd birthday. —Ed.

The list of famous country novelty songs is a long one. There have been hundreds–probably thousands–of them. Just off the top of my head: Johnny Cash’s “A Boy Named Sue,” Loretta Lynn’s “You’re the Reason Our Kids Are Ugly,” Mark Chesnutt’s “Bubba Shot the Jukebox,” and my dad’s all-time favorite (he sang it all the time), Mac Davis’ “It’s Hard to Be Humble.” Any half-decent country fan could reel off dozens more.

But when it comes to country novelty tune artists, Jim Stafford could just be the king. I grew up listening to “Spiders & Snakes,” “Wildwood Weed,” and “I Got Stoned and I Missed It,” and while I’d never kissed a girl or smoked a joint in my life, I loved the obvious spirit of fun behind all of ‘em.

Stafford has released only three albums, and since 1990 he’s dedicated his energy to operating and performing at the Jim Stafford Theatre in Branson, Missouri (no vanity there, and by the way: should you find yourself in Branson, be sure to stop by Dolly Partons’ Stampede!). Don’t know if he’s plain lazy or doesn’t need the money, but Stafford hasn’t released an LP since 1993. (He has done some acting; he played the role of Buford in 1984’s immortal Bloodsucker from Outer Space.)

Jim Stafford spawned four Top 40 hits, and if there’s one word to describe the LP it’s versatility. You get some swamp rock, a faux-lounge number, a couple of good ole’ country numbers, a blues parody, a rockabilly pastiche, and a couple of songs that pack what can only be described as a hard rock punch. And that “variety” also extends to Stafford’s knack for creating personae; he’s a shapeshifter who is, by turn, a sly hayseed, an aging rockabilly fan, a very confused courter, a Louisiana oracle, and so on.

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VIA PRESS RELEASE | Jack White kicks off what promises to be another eventful new year with the official publication of Jack White Collected Lyrics and Selected Writing Volume 1, available now at Third Man physical storefronts, thirdmanbooks.com, and booksellers in the United States; UK publication follows on February 2.

Edited by Third Man Records co-founder Ben Blackwell, the landmark new anthology features never-before-published poems and writings by White, rare and exclusive photos, and new essays written especially for this book by Blackwell, award-winning, Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award-nominated poet Adrian Matejka, and award-winning, Detroit-based filmmaker and writer dream hampton. It also compiles lyrics from both White’s solo recordings thus far, as well as his acclaimed work with The Raconteurs, The Dead Weather, and other collaborations.

The publication of Jack White Collected Lyrics and Selected Writing Volume 1 follows what proved to be a milestone 2025 for White, including The White Stripes’ induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame (streaming now on Disney+; a three-hour primetime special featuring highlights from the ceremony aired New Year’s Day on ABC and is available now on Hulu).

The event saw White accepting the honor with a poignant speech that included an original poem he’d written for Meg White, marking the occasion. November also saw White headline the Detroit Lions’ NFL Thanksgiving Halftime show at Detroit’s Ford Field with a special guest appearance by Eminem for a mashup of “Hello Operator” and “‘Till I Collapse,” before finishing with a searing “Seven Nation Army” for the hometown crowd. “Live at Ford Field,” a new EP capturing the historic performance in its entirety, is available now at all DSPs and streaming services.

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Nasty, brutish, and short—the ever chipper Thomas Hobbes could have been talking about New York City’s late Seventies/early eighties No Wave scene. He might have said “blessedly short,” because let’s face it, how much horrible noise (the phrase that Lester Bangs used to describe such short-lived No Wave bands like DNA, Mars, and Teenage Jesus and the Jerks) can anyone take?

No Wave was a scene that destroyed itself.

And luckily, the whole No Wave thing was largely (thanks to a military quarantine) confined to Downtown Manhattan, although I’ve heard scary rumors that outbreaks also occurred in Chicago (figures) and Japan (of course).

No Wave was all about making a dissonant, atonal racket, and some of it was produced by people who didn’t know how to play chords on their guitars, and what’s more, they thought chords sucked. Oh, and they liked to scream a lot. Much of it is funny, either on purpose or by accident, which is the only thing that attracts me to it. I like noise, but I like songs too, and good lyrics. No Wave was also (in most cases) about forming and breaking up in a real hurry, and not leaving much of a recorded legacy. The most important recording of the short-lived scene was the 1978 compilation No New York, “curated” by some producer named Brian Eno.

Deliberately primitive and defiantly nihilistic, No Wave was, but some of its bands were more listenable than others—James Chance and the Contortions weren’t exactly easy listening, but they played recognizable songs that fused free jazz and James Brown. And Glenn Branca’s Theoretical Girls don’t sound No Wave to me at all—sure, there’s a lot of dissonance and frayed nerves, but they played songs, cool songs with cool drones and lots of pounding drums. At times (listen to “Mom & Dad”), they sound like a wonderful fusion of garage rock and the early Talking Heads.

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VIA PRESS RELEASE | Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee and Grammy Award-winning guitarist Peter Frampton is celebrating the 50th anniversary of his iconic album Frampton Comes Alive! Upon its original release in 1976, Frampton Comes Alive! became a cultural phenomenon and remains one of the top-selling live albums of all time, with nearly 20 million copies sold worldwide.

As part of the celebration, Frampton will release a Vinylphyle edition of Frampton Comes Alive! on January 22 via A&M/UMe. One of the greatest rock albums of the 1970s can now be heard on vinyl again, presented as it was originally intended to sound. The limited Vinylphyle double LP pressing is sourced from the original 1975 Doug Sax 1/4″ production master, with lacquers cut by Joe Nino-Hernes, and pressed on 180g black vinyl at RTI. The package features a four-panel insert including a new interview with Frampton and Anthony Fantano of The Needle Drop; preorder HERE. In addition to the Vinylphyle release, the album is also available to experience in Dolby Atmos, following its 2024 immersive audio debut.

“I can’t believe it’s now been 50 years since Frampton Comes Alive! was released, but that record still feels like a living, breathing moment in my life,” says Frampton. “When we decided to do this Vinylphyle edition, it was important to me that it be done the right way. I personally asked that the audio be sourced from the original 1975 Doug Sax production master because I wanted it to sound exactly as we heard it back then. This album was born onstage, and hearing it presented this way on vinyl feels like bringing that energy back to life for longtime fans and new listeners alike.”

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VIA PRESS RELEASE | Due for release this March on Outer Battery Records, Live 1982 is a newly unearthed and ferocious live album capturing cult anti-heroes Void at the height of their power—raw, chaotic, and utterly uncompromising.

Formed in Columbia, Maryland, just north of Washington, DC, Void emerged from unlikely surroundings to become one of the most confrontational bands of the early DC hardcore scene. Their debut in 1980 at the first-ever Wilson Center show—a legendary 15-band marathon largely organised by the Bad Brains—immediately marked them out as a band apart.

Featuring vocalist John Weiffenbach, guitarist Bubba Dupree, Chris Stover on bass, and drummer Sean Finnegan, Void’s sound defied structure, with songs threatening to fly apart at any moment. Every member played at maximum speed, the resulting discord and controlled chaos elevating the quartet to a more dangerous and extreme plane.

Containing pivotal live recordings, Live 1982 professionally captures two crucial moments in the band’s history. The A-side documents Void’s incendiary April 1982 performance at the Wilson Center, recorded just months before the release of the legendary Faith/Void split LP. Sharing the bill with Minor Threat, The Faith, Iron Cross, and Double O, the band delivered a set packed with hardcore classics such as “Ignorant People” and “Who Are You?”

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Celebrating Chris Desjardins on his 73rd birthday. —Ed.

Any shelf dedicated to classic California punk requires representation by The Flesh Eaters of Chris Desjardins, aka Chris D. Never a bad record has he made under that moniker, but the finest of them remains the talent-drenched and enduringly brilliant 1981 LP A Minute to Pray, a Second to Die. 

I first learned of Chris D.’s work in the latter portion of the 1980s, my discovery largely aided by the diligent underground music press of the era, in particular the scribbling of Byron Coley. While numerous zines featured reviews of both the Flesh Eaters and Chris D.’s band of the period The Divine Horsemen, it was really Coley that helped to put Desjardins’ art in context.

In fact, Coley’s such a determined champion of the man’s work that his new liners for this reissue aren’t an extra so much as a prerequisite. And the insight was found in more than just reviews, articles, and prior sleeve notes, as Coley and Forced Exposure publisher/writer Jimmy Johnson conducted an extensive interview with Desjardins for issue #12 of their reliably hefty “quarterly” mag. The duo also provided space in the back for “Chris D.’s Video Guide,” an enjoyable and extremely enlightening tour of the guy’s VHS collection.

I’d already sized Desjardins up as a major part of the USA’s roots punk brigade, his output landing in the same rough region as The Cramps, X, The Blasters, The Plugz, and The Gun Club, but the conversation in FE presented him as an uncommonly astute member of the punk community (especially when compared with the average Flipside chat).

Furthermore, his movie writings offered a vibrant critical viewpoint, one that blended a love of low-budget American flicks categorized by Michael Weldon as Psychotronic with a healthy dose of early auteurist perspective (lots of Hitchcock and films noir), considerations of New Hollywood (Polanski, Schrader) and global art cinema (Buñuel, Fassbinder, Makavejev).

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VIA PRESS RELEASE | Kishi Bashi has announced a 10th anniversary reissue of his critically acclaimed 2016 album, Sonderlust, which will be released on February 27th, 2026 via Joyful Noise Recordings.

To celebrate, he’s shared the previously unreleased B-side “Harpsi Chords,” a song that captures the balance of melancholy, introspection, and searching optimism that defines his music. “I was always excited about this song, and went as far as to record the strings on it,” Kaoru Dill-Ishibashi, AKA Kishi Bashi, says of the song. “I don’t think it matched the tone of Sonderlust, and so it was a difficult decision to leave it off.”

Now available for pre-order, the Sonderlust (10th Anniversary Edition) features updated artwork from Ssin Kim, the South Korean artist behind the original cover. “The first piece was called End of the Beginning. It was dark, pessimistic; about the end of life,” Dill-Ishibashi explains.

“The new one, made post-COVID, feels more optimistic. It’s interesting that she’s changed, just like I have. When you’re younger, the world can feel overwhelming. As you age, you start to see your place in it, become more pragmatic, less anxious. I think that’s what this new art captures, a sense of perspective, of hope.”

Last fall, Kishi Bashi announced a 2026 headlining tour around Sonderlust’s anniversary, during which he’ll perform the album in full. The run begins in late March with performances at Boise, ID’s Treefort Music Fest and Knoxville, TN’s Big Ears before taking him across the country—including an April 3rd stop at Chicago, IL’s Thalia Hall and an April 11th show at New York, NY’s Irving Plaza.

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Born in Busan, South Korea, and currently based in New York City, pianist Haeun Joo releases her second album, Just Gravity, on compact disc and digital January 16 via Brooklyn’s unstoppable fount of heightened improvisation, 577 Records. Alternating Joo solo with trio interactions of sharp, vibrant depth featuring bassist Chris Tordini and drummer Steven Crammer, the set is highly effective in showcasing Joo’s range of emotions and technical ability. This is assured music that holds promise for further growth.

Haeun Joo has cited Keith Jarrett, Bill Evans, and Fred Hersch as primary influences. All three tangibly inform Joo’s playing on her debut We Will Find, which came out in 2021 on the Next Level label. Its eight selections offer a warm, contemplative quartet that stays largely inside (while not playing it safe) through the prowess of Matt Holman on trumpet and flugelhorn, Doug Weiss on bass, and Ronen Itzik joining Joo, who plays exceptionally well along with singing in a wordless style that’s joyousness is highly pleasurable to the ear.

There is no singing by Joo on Just Gravity, but the absence doesn’t register as a lack, as her latest builds a distinct temperament by taking big improvisational plunges without losing the lyrical quality that stood out on her debut. While this current of expressive beauty is most pronounced in the solo pieces, it is not lost amongst the trio action that widens the album’s musical reach.

Opening track “Salt and Silence” is, in some ways, Just Gravity in miniature. It starts calm and pretty and essentially solo (there are some subtle bowed accents by Tordini underneath), only to gradually unfold into a glorious thicket of three-way exploration. The interactions become considerably intense without tipping over into the harried.

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