As both the frontman of the punk-rock band Hot Water Music and a solo artist, Chuck Ragan moved smoothly between punk and Americana.

Now Ragan is up to date with Love And Lore, which is his first solo album in ten years.

On the album, he moves further away from the classic folk sound and explores more melodic and atmospheric soundscapes without losing the raw nerve that has made him a distinctive voice on the alternative rock scene.

“I am always trying to do something different because I feel like if we're not searching, we're not learning,” Ragan says in a press release.

That approach is evident on tracks like “Echo The Halls,” where Ragan's weathered vocals balance between the raw and the pensive over piano tones and soaring guitar surfaces.

He has gathered a strong team of musicians around him.

Together with multi-instrumentalist Todd Beene, drummer George Rebelo from Hot Water Music and bassist Spencer Duncan, the songs unfold in a vibrant field of tension between country-inspired rock, Americana and the emotional intensity that has always been at the core of Ragan's songwriting.

When Chuck Ragan takes over Ideal Bar on September 9th, he will be backed by both the energy of punk and the storytelling tradition of folk music.