Salvation Town

Audio Mixers: Chris Testa; David Kalish.
Recording information: Redstar Studios, Silver Lake, CA.
Photographer: Brandise Danesewich.
Stepping outside of Social Distortion, which has been his steady gig since 2004, Jonny Two Bags reiterates his varied palette on his second solo album, 2014's Salvation Town. Not as blaring or ballsy as Social Distortion but certainly still muscular, there's a slight rootsy underpinning on Salvation Town; a bit of Tex-Mex surfaces on "Avenues," "Clay Wheels" lopes along on a lazy country beat. Despite this Nudie Suit flair -- which isn't evident just on full-song digressions into certain styles, it's there in the arrangements and the well-worn interplay of his backing band -- Salvation Town is, at its core, a strong rock & roll record, one with deep roots but no sense of living in the past. Jonny Two Bags never shies away from his middle age -- it's present in his concerns, his far-reaching influences, how he carries his guitar -- but that's the appealing thing about Salvation Town; it's an appealingly adult rock & roll record, one that still kicks up dust and has a vulgar tongue and proudly displays every last one of its scars. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine