Northern Aggression

With the Dream Syndicate and as a solo artist, Steve Wynn provides a music that is obviously close to his soul. His guitar playing is thick and tense and his vocals provide a sense of everyman relief. 2010’s Northern Aggression, recorded with Wynn’s beloved Miracle 3, is a rousing assembly of gritty playing that slides into psychedelia with a pumped E-Bow guitar on “Resolution.” The Lou Reed-inspired street sense of “We Don’t Talk About It” shakes out some garage-rock action with drums that bear down on the road well traveled. “No One Ever Drowns” throws the band into a backstreet bar with a few extra piano notes making their case. “Consider the Source” has a small-room band sound that’s coarse and comforting. “The Death of Donny B” is an obscure cover of a tune from a ‘60s anti-drug propaganda film that retains a haunted whisper. “The Other Side” tramples through like the Velvet Underground and Rolling Stones marching through the fields. “Cloud Spitter” dips Wynn’s vocals into a well of reverb. Like letters from an old friend, Wynn’s albums are conversational and always welcomed.