New Country Sounds of Ryan Wong, the latest offering by the Cool Ghoul and multi-hyphenate music man behind Supreme Joy, finds the songwriter charting sonic territories that might at first seem unfamiliar to fans of his past work in the Garage, Psych, and Post-punk genres. But under the wing of storied San Francisco scene scion Sonny Smith (Sonny and the Sunsets), Wong sidles up to a sound that bears a close kinship to the producer’s own playfully country-leaning works. New Country Sounds finds Wong’s boyish lilt exploring deep registers and deeper themes, coupled with unmistakably capital-C Country explorations on both guitar and steel. Wong the writer, however, continues to find himself owing more to Ray Davies than he does to Ray Price. Wong’s natural charm and humor set him apart from today’s crop of selfserious crooners. A laconic slacker sensibility persists throughout, lending Wong’s more winkingly macho moments an ironic distance that comes off cheeky rather than threatening.