Columbia's Sissy Paycheck, Tampsen offer up some of the year's finest local records

Two new albums reveal the work of fixtures on the Columbia culture-making scene.

One is a band of beloved players offering their first record in about eight years. The other, a songwriter best known for his work in another medium, now making his musical presence felt. Here's a look at great new music from Sissy Paycheck and Tampsen.

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Sissy Paycheck, "40 Days"

What if superlative classic rock jams and '70s pop-country ballads were recorded in someone's bedroom? The question crops up early and often on "40 Days," the first record from Sissy Paycheck since 2016 . The eight-song set twines ageless sounds with a lo-fi aesthetic, resulting in one of the strongest local albums of the year.

On "40 Days," singer-guitarist Ryan Pale, guitarist Travis Boots, bassist Lou Nevins and drummer Taylor Bacon — with a serious assist from multi-instrumentalist Josh Cochran — make something immediately appealing and tacitly subversive. "Cover It Up" arrives to open the album like some long-lost Southern rock classic; rolling drums, spiky guitar and Cochran's heavy breathing (credited on the record) lend immediate momentum and credibility.

Sissy Paycheck quickly turns left on "Father Wishing Well," with its tender rhythms and soft undercurrent; the cut sounds like Josh Tillman channeling Glen Campbell from somewhere just shy of the pearly gates. The guitar solo alone will send your heart and mind somewhere special.

Seasoned throughout the record, songs like "Land of the Child," the title track and "Marble Eye" continue the classic-rock bite. Of these, "40 Days" is the strongest, weaving a bit of modal, George Harrison influence into the vintage fabric.

Near the center of the tracklist, "Goddamn Ann" is a real gem, a breakup tune that focuses its furious blues outward first ("Oh goddamn Ann, what the hell happened to you?") before pointing three fingers at itself. "Loser" also rings sad and true, jangling its way to a refrain that's somewhere between self-loathing and confession ("Why, I’m just a loser").

Sexy and strange, "Baby Hang" closes the set on an impossibly high note, with direct references to the Stones and lovely, abstract poetry. The cut flirts ("Take off your red headdress and give me some of your wine") and rattles like it's on the verge of falling apart — in the best possible way.

Somehow a summing of everything that makes "40 Days" great, while bounding on its own two feet, the track leaves you feeling warm and woozy.

Sissy Paycheck will celebrate "40 Days" with a show at 9 p.m. Saturday at Hitt Records; Steven Senger shares the bill.

Tampsen, "Stars on the Ceiling"

More than most, the new record from Columbia artist Tampsen lives up to its name. "Stars on the Ceiling" evokes the feeling of leaning back — in a forest clearing, on a moonlit beach or across a top bunk bed — and looking up to pick a light that's distinctly yours.

The musical side of local filmmaker Chase Thompson, Tampsen gathers a who's-who of Columbia players to shrink the space between the intimate and cosmic — all while existing within a power-pop lineage that extends back to the likes of Squeeze and Nick Lowe and ahead to Islands.

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Peter LaMear's drums open the record, sending "My Moon" into its easy orbit. Thompson's bell-clear voice effortlessly evokes yearning, comparing a beloved one to a heavenly body for the first, and definitely not the last, time.

LaMear is part of a core band surrounding Thompson that includes guitarist John Galbraith, bassist Wil Reeves, keyboardist Andrew Weir and multi-instrumentalist Lucas Oswald. The easy, gliding pop vibes throughout make it sound as if the band has worked together forever.

The title track arrives next, with guitars and parental devotion unfolding themselves in real time ("I'll bring the universe to you / While I still can / It's getting far too big, my boy / To fit in my hands," Thompson sings). The song is sweet but never saccharine, composed with a gentle but considered tone; the compact arrangement eventually expands to abide a bridge that would fit a late-'60s Beach Boys record or the best efforts of the Shins.

Elsewhere, "Run Wild Run Free" incorporates guitar buzz and a buoyant backing chorus evoking "My Brave Face"-era McCartney. Thompson and Co. lean into early rock and tropicalia sounds on "Arcadia" and embrace the crying cadences of country music on "Crushed Velvet" (which features the killer refrain "Crushed velvet never felt so cold").

Seamless in its sound and stride, the album winds to a fitting close. "Unwalkable Rain" not only boasts a great title, but an especially present lead vocal from Thompson. "First Sight" documents true love within a literary sort of rock 'n' roll, underscoring the deeply felt connections at the album's core.

"Pretty Sure" closes out the set with Reeves' forward-moving bass and the swell and recede of ocean sounds. "Stars on the Ceiling" ends as it began, with melodic reminders that when you open your heart to love someone else, the rest of the world opens up to you too.

Aarik Danielsen is the features and culture editor for the Tribune. Contact him at adanielsen@columbiatribune.com or by calling 573-815-1731. He's on Twitter/X @aarikdanielsen.

This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: Columbia's Sissy Paycheck, Tampsen offer up some of the year's finest local records