New year, new Tim Barry record

When punks trade three chords and a half-stack for an acoustic guitar and a solo career, it usually means they're mellowing out with age. Former Avail frontman Tim Barry's gone acoustic, sure, but he's still a card-carrying bad-ass, and we dare you to take it up with him if you disagree. The hard-boiled folkie returns to Denver label Suburban Home for his third proper studio effort, 28th & Stonewall. This time around, Barry turns his attention to such heavy matters as "Prosser's Gabriel," an account of an 1800 slave uprising that's already caught the ear of editors at Beyond Race magazine, while finding time to indulge a little brass on "Will Travel," tapping the aptly named No BS! Brass Band to blow in the track. The album goes on sale Jan. 26, but Barry already has a video ready, to whet your appetite.