Jon Spencer and his Blues Explosion are back with a bang. Or at least 
a blast from the past.

After several years on hiatus, the underground indie-rock trio are 
testing the comeback waters with the release of the new anthology Dirty Shirt Rock ’n’ Roll: The First 10 Years.
“The compilation actually leads off a series of reissues,” explains fast-talking, no-nonsense singer-guitarist Spencer from his Manhattan
base of operations. “We’re reissuing the first six Blues Explosion albums because everything is out of print. Well, the main reason we’re really reissuing them is because they’re good albums and I wantВ people to hear them.”
Formed 20 years ago in New York City after the demise of Spencer’s acclaimed punk outfit Pussy Galore, the Blues Explosion burst onto the scene with a ramshackle collision of juke-joint 
hoodoo, noise-punk abandon and garage-rock grit, with dashes of rockabilly, soul and R&B tossed in for good measure.
In recent years? Not so much. After the 2004 Damage album, the band 
drifted apart. Spencer went on to tour and record with the rootsier 
combo Heavy Trash — their latest album Midnight Soul Serenade came 
out late last year — though he and the Blues Explosion have continued 
to play the occasional gig.
This year, they’ll be seeing if they can rekindle the fire with a series of showss in July and August. If all goes well, the band could embark on a full-scale reunion tour, and might even return to the studio.