“Boys and girls wear their black to stand out in the night-time. . . .†Anyone who sounds like this has something to say. John Sonntag

sounds like this in “I’m on the East Side,” track 12 on his new album, Chasing Stars, available from iTunes

, Rhapsody , and my favorite, CD Baby, and recorded and produced by Sonntag at Thunder Pumpkin studios. Sonntag is not just fresh but startling.

“Chasing Stars,” the title track, upbeat, “standing still, chasing stars.” Rock? Folk-Rock? Blues? I don’t know how to categorize it – other than great!

It gets dark with “One Whole Day.” dark on dark, written by Rich Grula. “I can’t see you I know it’s wrong but you know why I can’t call you, we’d start to talk and I’d start to lie, I’ve got someone, yeah she hates me now, she pulls away, but she’s someone, when I need her most she’s always stayed. . . Driving out of town in that August rain we parked in that field and we stayed one whole day. . . There’s a hole in my heart – it wont close.” This song is beautiful.

But “Count to Ten” “Close your eyes and count to ten slow enough to kiss again. I’m gonna chase your blues far from you, far from this new made bed.” This can bring a tear to a cynical cop’s eye.

“Hey Lou.” “Do guardian angels ever drop their guard? . . . How come innocence is always lost? Hey Lou, How do I get through these days of doubt?”

“North,” written by Sonntag and Grula, “Flat black midnight. Pulled into a Quick Stop. … My boots scrape the blacktop. There’s a bulge in my jacket nothin in my eyes. The night clerk with her hair cut short pulls up with surprise. . . she got me turned around and I stopped. Turned around. She got me turned around just when I thought I turned myself around.”

Does Clint Eastwood do rock videos?