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Jon Spencer is a badass. Without question. Not only can the man perform the most amazing hip gyrations, leading more than one female heart (and, I suspect, male as well) to palpitate, but his band’s raw punk-tinged blues inject a shot of adrenaline into old-fashioned rock ‘n’ roll, leaving a slew of imitators in the dust. The Blues Explosion’s newest effort, Now I Got Worry, finds the bassless trio back in the saddle with gritty down-home riffs and a return to the rougher sound that characterized the earlier Extra Width and Crypt Style. Proving themselves able recyclers of tried-and-true R&B formulas, the boys aren’t afraid to coat the stuff with punk aggression and sex appeal, and they toss in a few Grand Royalesque flourishes for good measure. A host of guests have lent a hand, including Sun Records’ Rufus Thomas and Beasties/Beck chum Money Mark, resulting in a fine blend of old-style howlin’ and new-school enthusiasm. Winning tracks include the bristling “Identify” and the dirty crunchy-guitar romp “2Kindsa Love,” as well as “Get Over Here,” with its crass slidework. Guitarist Judah Bauer handles vocal duties on a sloppy cover of Dub Narcotic’s “Fuck Shit Up,” but for the most part Spencer runs a tight ship. By now, Blues Explosion aficionados are accustomed to his self-congratulatory exclamations, but never before has the man been so magnificently audacious as on “Can’t Stop,” a smooth bump-and-grind number in which Spencer encourages “everybody to stand up, throw their hands in the air, and kiss my ass, ’cause your girlfriend still loves me.” He’s right, you know.—Amy Domingues