Jim White – Wrong-Eyed Jesus! (LP)

When Jim White’s Luaka Bop debut Wrong-Eyed Jesus appeared in 1997, the unique blend of alt country and metaphysics startled many with its idiosyncratic freshness. It was instantly acclaimed as a classic of the newly burgeoning “sadcore” scene, a point which amused the Florida-based songwriter to no end. “For 20 years I’d written these dark little songs, ” he notes dryly, “Every once in a while I’d play them for someone and they’d shout, ‘Stop! That sucks so bad it makes my ears pop!’, then a thing called alt country came along and, boom, all of a sudden everyone’s hollering ‘Jim, you’re a friggin’ genius!’ I mean, what happened???”