Bill Janovitz and Crown Victoria

Bill Janovitz is no stranger to rock fans. As the front man of Buffalo Tom, Janovitz helped create a remarkable body of work, six albums’ worth of great songs that make the band one of the touchstones of Nineties post-punk alterna-rock, the rightful peers of groups like The Pixies and Pearl Jam. After Buffalo Tom suspended operations, Janovitz reinvented himself, releasing two excellent folk–tinged solo records. He’s now made a triumphant return to his rock roots, backed by Crown Victoria, a crack band that includes Buffalo Tom sideman Phil Aiken on keyboards, Josh Lattanzi (Ben Kweller, Juliana Hatfield) on bass, and drummer Tom Polce. There’s a ragged, spontaneous electricity at work here, the sound of a band coming together in the moment, living inside the songs they’re making. Presiding over it all is Janovitz’s distinctive, startlingly expressive voice — gruff and whispery one moment, soaring with passion and clarity the next — one of the most interesting voices in rock music today.