The first time I saw Centro-Matic play was basically the Platonic ideal for Centro-Matic shows. It was in the band's hometown of Denton, Texas, in the spring of 2002, at a small rehearsal space/nightclub/ bar/vintage-video-game parlor called Rubber Gloves. It was packed beyond belief with devout followers and close friends of the musicians--so packed that it seemed like everyone in Denton must have been there. Centro-Matic were unbelievably loud and forceful, but also refreshingly full of grace. Through the onslaught of guitar, bass, drums, piano, and fiddle, what stood out most clearly was the delicacy of the arrangements, particularly the vocal harmonies. As the four Texas boys stood on the stage looking down, never moving much, I had the distinct sensation of discovering a new favorite band. And because I was the only one in the room not singing along to every word of every song, it was clear that the rest of the crowd was way ahead of me.

Centro-Matic is the loud rock band department of a musical cottage industry centered around Will Johnson, who--speaking of infinite capacity--writes more songs than most songwriters you know put together. He writes so many songs that it takes Centro-Matic, as well as South San Gabriel (a lower-key band anchored by the same four musicians, plus a steel guitarist), Johnson solo, and the performing duo of Johnson and his wizardly musical partner Scott Danbom--to record and perform them all. Between the various titles, Johnson, Danbom, drummer/engineer Matt Pence, and bassist Mark Hedman have made 11 full-length records (of increasing quality) in the past 10 years, along with countless EPs, singles, split releases, and one-offs. The difficulty is that new listeners might not know where to start. The beauty is that once they do, there's practically no limit to the wealth of smart, sad, urgent, sweet, and raucous rock music--with grace notes of country, punk, folk, and swing thrown in for good measure--just waiting to be found.