"Pack-It-Rite"
Okra Candy, 2015
A song involving picking up beer and cigarettes at a corner store never sounded so mysterious, in which the protagonist has been watching a woman out of the corner of his eye, and he notes that the “bourgeois bullshit is always killing the spark...but they can't kill my spark.” It starts with just Russell's voice and guitar and builds up a driving momentum, as the rest of the band kicks in, that never lets go.

"Walt Disney"
Okra Candy
Sure, Russell has written some silly songs that have ended up being crowd favorites, especially “Donut Taco Palace” from this same album, about an eatery he used to frequent near his son's middle school that serves up chorizo next to the cream-filled pastries. Russell wrote that song to get that name of the store out of his head. But “Walt Disney” is the one stuck in my craw. It's dark yet playful, and pretty creepy, with that “Hi-ho, Hi-ho” refrain to boot. In this one, the main character isn't happy with his girlfriend's behavior: “Where the hell you been? Don't try to kiss me with that alcohol on your breath. You actin' so sweet and so fresh...you actin' just like Walt Disney.” We'll leave all the Walt Disney conspiracy theories for another time.

"Don't Leave It a Lie"
I Got Your Medicine, 2017
Russell told me his first three Shinyribs records didn't quite capture where the band was with its live shows at the time – partly because of its ever-expanding roster that is now up to eight musicians. But I Got Your Medicine captures his newer style of arrangements and songwriting that he adopted when he first added the horn section to the band during the making of Okra Candy. This track on the new record captures the full-throttle Shinyribs vibe, but still keeps the quirky sound alive that spawned the project in the first place, with Russell's ukulele still chugging away in the background. What stands out is the memorable break half way through the song that intersperses the uke, flute, pedal steel and electric piano, woven around a delicious bass line — then the band's vocal power kicks in and takes it home.

"A Certain Girl"
I Got Your Medicine
Russell has always had a thing for old-school novelty songs (Sam the Sham, anyone?) and the original swamp-pop sound from the 1950s of Louisiana band Cookie and His Cupcakes. This remake of an Allen Toussaint song — which has also been covered going way back to The Yardbirds, and also by Warren Zevon — is a reminder that a Shinyribs show is simply a hell of a lot of fun, featuring the call-and-response between Russell and his female backup singers, and, what else, a '50s-era sax solo.

Shinyribs and special guests the Peterson Brothers perform Friday, February 17, at the Heights Theater, 339 West 19th. Doors open at 7 p.m.