slug magazine review

John Wesley Coleman III
The Last Donkey Show
Goner Records
Street: 02.21
John Wesley Coleman = Jay Reatard + Violent Femmes
Judging by the drawings and barely legible handwritten track listing inside the album cover, John Wesley Coleman is undoubtedly insane. This air of weirdness permeates the latest record from this Texan garage-rock balladeer. The Last Donkey Show, a rock n’ roll cowboy carnival released on Memphis garage juggernaut Goner Records, still channels a low-fi garage attitude, but shows off Coleman’s musical dexterity as he strays from the raucous insanity of his previous work on solo projects and Austin group Golden Boys. Musically, the album is all over the place—frantic garage-punk songs with absurd lyrics about clowns giving away babies are mixed with vintage pop and sincere country love songs. Coleman makes it work, achieving a perfect balance of off-kilter imagery and pop sensibility that sounds both timeless and totally unique. The Last Donkey Show has an easily accessible sound and is still interesting after a dozen listens. It is a madman’s masterpiece, bound to see heavy rotation among fans of Coleman’s labelmates Ty Segall and Nobunny. –Cody Kirkland