It’s not everyday that you find a record from a road-hardened tour dog with one track sung in Japanese, guest appearances from Grant Lee Buffalo’s Grant Lee Phillips and Joey Peters, and an overall sound that’s as reminiscent of Lennon and McCartney as it is of Cheap Trick and Ben Folds. Bill Bonk delivers on his second solo release as he sings and plays guitar, bass, harmonica, flute, mandolin, keyboard, and short-wave radio.

Bonk, a veteran of tours with John Prine, Ron Sexsmith, Aimee Mann, and Shawn Mullins, to name a few, plays just about everything you can imagine and plays it well, at that. His songs are slick, dreamy, power-pop constructions that pound and jerk, hum sweetly, and enchant. Whether it’s the twang-tinged "Rings a Bell" that stalks slowly under a Radiohead-like melody, or the tire-screeching, groovy opener "Everybody," Bonk demonstrates what an accomplished musician who’s spent years with great artists can do when left alone to write. Bonk is impressive musically and lyrically—witty, accessible, and unswervingly cool.

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