Review: J.D. McPherson’s “Signs and Signifiers”

By Ken Paulson

–JD McPherson’s Signs and Signifiers has topped the Americana music airplay chart for the past two weeks, and for good reason. It’s a refreshing collection of first generation rock ‘n’ roll and rhythm and blues that  sounds like it could have been recorded at Sun studios in 1957.

Like the early Blasters records, this taps into rock’s origins for a contemporary audience.  This isn’t mimicry; it’s more a channeling.

McPherson told NPR that a Buddy Holly collection on CD inspired his sound, but this is more Big Joe Turner than the Crickets, bluesy and just a little dangerous.

Highlights abound, including the full-throttle “Scandalous” and  “Scratchin’ Circles,”  a song about “scratching out the beat with the leather on our feet”

“B.G.M.O.S.R.N.R.” sounds like it could segue into “Little Egypt” at any second. The acronym stands for “Big Gold Mine of Sweet Rock ‘n’ Roll,” a fun title and a pretty good description of this fine album.

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