Jim White’s latest LP, Misfit’s Jubilee, arrives on 30 October via Fluff & Gravy Records and features many of White’s hallmarks. Meditations on the American South, touches of heartbreak and laughter, and novelistic portraits carried out in the narrow spaces of songs. Those who have been along for the ride since The Mysterious Tale of How I Shouted “Wrong-Eyed Jesus” and those who have come into the picture later will find that time has not dulled White’s keen observational sensibilities nor his knack for creating unforgettable songs.
Witness “Smart Ass Reply” is a four-minute play disguised as a song. The musician traverses between latter-day slacker pop, lo-fi, surf rock, and emerges with something that feels like an anthemic radio hit save for its lyrical content and wit. It’s a swirling, whirling aural collage that rips and snorts the way only White can. It’s intellectual without being pretentious, street-level without pandering, and a powerful reminder of his particular genius.