January 2025 was the time I was finally ready to embrace Jonathan Richman’s 2018 album ‘Sa’. His 17th studio album received a local release in spiffy Aus-only blue jacket (black vinyl thankfully) via Flippin’ Yeah Industries, a label run by friend to music Darren Hanlon, and is also the physical media home Kankawa Nagarra’s smash hit ‘Wirlmarni’. I’ve been aware of J-Rich since seeing the Farrelly bros romantic comedy ‘There’s Something About Mary’ around 1999, discovering the magic of The Modern Lovers a decade later, but like with post-‘Like Flies on Sherbert’ Alex Chilton I’ve been fearful of their shift from my comfy realm of punk-adjacent subculture to the family friendly arena of palatable entertainers. I’m so glad I got there eventually with both of them, picking up bits of their 80s, 90s and (here) 2010s output at my own pace. Their attempts at being warm and worldly, but retaining the idiosyncratic charm, mean as much to me now as their stuff firmly lodged in the cannon of cool. ‘Sa’ sees Richman working again with fellow Modern Lover Jerry Harrison for a raga inspired record. His guitar and voice are accompanied by harmonium, tambura, clavinet, mellotron, percussion and other voices. It’s no departure, but it certainly doesn’t feel stagnant. Past musical and lyrical themes are referenced, reflected on and absorbed into this more meditative mode. Very enjoyable! - Nic ~~~~ The original modern lover is back!I gotta admit that coming to my first listen of the album, I wasn’t expecting much more than another solo Jonathan Richman LP. In some ways it is that, but also, a lot more enjoyable than I expected.There’s a kind of 60s throwback going on here, with Richman dipping into Indian ragas and instrumentation at times underpinned by the Mellotron lines (played by Jerry Harrison). An album that grapples with his past and present, especially with a rewrite into “The Fading Of The Old World.”-Mitch <a href="https://jonathanrichman.bandcamp.com/album/sa">SA by Jonathan Richman</a>
