Jon Spencer “Songs of Personal Loss and Protest” 2026. Shove Records. The latest from the blues explosion man along with his backing band: Kendall Wind and Macky Spider Bowman (The Bobby Lees). The LP insert is hilarious – it’s a long list of possible band name considerations (funniest include “Jon Spencer & the Smartphone Addictions,” “Emerson, Spencer, Lake & Palmer,” most accurate include “Jon Spencer & the Devastators” and “Jon Spencer & His Badass Band) with the final “Jon Kendall Spider” for the win plus an album subtitle “Stink & Fuss.” It’s been a bit over six months since we last saw Spencer perform (December 2025 at Turner Hall in Milwaukee)  so I’m not entirely certain if any of the tracks from Songs of Personal Loss and Protest were played but I feel like maybe my top pick “Knock ‘Em Out” may have been – it’s an absolute ripper and ass-shaker with a vibe that both harkens back to vintage Blues Explosion songs (“Blues Explosion Man”) and looks forward/is contemporary with his young bandmates providing propulsive, high energy rhythm. Besides having the trademark Spencer sound, many also have his sense of humor, too, like on “Orange Slice Blues” (on which he brings levity to his anxiety) and another fave “Wet & Wild.”  Though the album is rocking, fun and funny, he says about the record: “These past few years, there has been a lot of emotional conflict and personal loss — the passing of time takes its toll. Losing friends, losing family, and all of this set against a world gone topsy turvy, where it feels like we are losing basic freedoms… I’m trying to balance a lot of things, but the answer is always rock ‘n’ roll.”