From his tenures with the Sneakers and the dB's to his subsequent solo projects, singer/songwriter Chris Stamey was a towering figure in the Southern jangle pop renaissance, though that was hardly the limit of his talents. Whether he was fusing the sensibilities of Big Star to new wave pop with the dB's on 1982's Repercussion, blending angular melodies with playful melodicism on his 1987 solo effort It's Alright, detouring into introspective semi-acoustic pop with his former dB's bandmate Peter Holsapple on 1991's Mavericks, or embracing the sounds of mid-century popular songwriting on 2019's New Songs for the 20th Century, Stamey understood the importance of melody while also demonstrating the many ways in which they can be shaped depending on their context. Stamey was also a valuable producer and sideman.