Oxford, Mississippi native John Barrett traded up the leisurely pace of a musician’s life in the Deep South for the crush-and-grind pace of the New York City. Not surprisingly, Just Business, Barrett’s fourth record under the Bass Drum of Death banner is anything but kicked-back. “There’s a certain kind of trouble that you’re able to get into in New York that you’re not able to get in anywhere else,” laughs Barrett. Recorded over the space of a year in a studio space overlooking the congestion and hustle of Times Square, Just Business packs every bit the feedback-soaked, garage wallop of past BDOD fare, both live and on (what else?) vinyl.

Like The Big Apple itself, Just Business is just plain bigger and deeper in scope than anything Bass Drum of Death has done before. A product of his newfound urban digs, perhaps? “It’s definitely more of a New York record than a Mississippi record,” Barrett slyly admits. “But some of these songs pre-date me moving here, but even on those ones, there’s an influence. There are certain situations that can only come through living [in New York] and taking some time off to have a life here; that are what I wrote about this time. That said, it’s certainly not a Strokes record or a Television record.”