Jad Fair & Samuel Locke Ward - 100 Songs (A Master Class In Songwriting) 2LP

Can an indie/punk legend create his most epic work a half century into his career? As productive as Guided By Voices and Buckethead are, neither could match Half Japanese leader Jad Fair’s quest to release100 albums in 2021 during his COVID downtime- he actually topped that goal with a whopping 160 albums then. Now he’s whittled them down to a 100-song, double album set that’s a cornucopia of words/songs/sounds. The brief, juicy nuggets of songs were crafted by Jad alone, composing the sounds via the GarageBand computer program, supplemented by his recitals and booming vocal percussion.

The song styles go everywhere, include jazzy noir (“Garbage Man”), experimental noise (“Sunshine Happiness”), monster battles (“Together We Will”), heartfelt odes (“Time For Love”), alien attacks (“For Stupid Kicks”), free form rhymes (“Welcome Mat”), child-like babbling (“June to July”), social commentary (“What Else Is New?”), mysterious threats (“Pale Green Pants”), vampire slaying expertise (“How It’s Done”), a sing-songy ode to fruits (“Apple, Peach, Pear”), a devil-possessed sister (“Our Eyes”), a citrus-themed love song (“Time For Love”), crazed exercise instructions (“Invigorate Your Life”), a freak show (“Life In the Suburbs”), speculative geology (“No One Knows For Sure”), an apocalyptic battle (“In The Eyes”) and motivational optimism (“Magic”).

Jad is a stunning study in contrast, with enough eerie ghouls to fill up the Shudder Channel and enough plaintive love songs to fill up the Hallmark Channel. There’s truly something for all tastes here and now you can soak it all up in one place. - Kill Rock Stars