As one-third of the blues-punk group
the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion,
Judah Bauer's clear, punchy guitar work serves as essential counterpoint to the songs' hard, funky backbeats. As leader of the ad hoc side group
Twenty Miles (which features his brother Donovan on drums), his dexterity with a variety of vintage guitar sounds is only one focus of the music; he plays bass and harp -- and sings pretty damn well, too -- on
Keep It Coming, his third and best disc.
Bauer widely samples the R&B, blues, rockabilly, and funk that are at the root of
the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion sound. But the guitarist treats his influences a bit more gingerly on his own than with
Spencer, while still injecting a punk spirit. Guests include
the North Mississippi All-Stars,
Cody and
Luther Dickinson, and former
Boss Hog member (and neighbor) Hollis Queens. ~ John Duffy