A few weeks ago, my friend Ryan Kerr played in my living room with some friends he was touring with.

One of those friends was JD Wright, a singer/songwriter from Detroit who grew up in a small coastal town overrun with tourists.

And as he played alone and unamplified in my living room, that sort of small-town disillusionment was the loudest part of his performance. But on record, he’s joined by a full band that puts some volume to his disenchantment—and with excellent results.

With the power of a rock and roll band behind him, JD transforms from a humble folk singer into an Americana powerhouse. The most obvious comparisons are guys like Tom Petty and Jackson Browne, mostly due to the sophistication of the arrangements and his effortless lyricism.

But buried deep beneath the woodsy, highway-worn folk rock and his slight drawl, you get the sense that JD learned how to play guitar by playing along with the Clash and the Descendants. Beneath all the swung rhythms, acoustic fingerpicking, and slide guitars, there’s a raggedness that’s distinctively punk.

It makes perfect sense: despite their sonic disparateness, folk and punk have similar souls. Both share a fierce DIY ethos and are commonly used as vehicles for dissent. Springsteen could have been a punk hero if he showed up a few years later and played a little faster (remember that next time you hear someone deride him as “dad rock”).

And while Lake Effect might not overtly sound like punk, its scrappy attitude permeates every groove. Through every memory of stupid college friends, abandoned beach towns, and personal regret, JD sounds like he’s wavering between starting a fistfight or collapsing in existential exhaustion. The instrumentation follows suit, vacillating between crashing chords, fiery electric guitar solos, and fragile fingerpicking.

Lake Effect may be Wright’s debut record, but it plays with a sophistication that many artists don’t reach until much further in their career. I’ll certainly be paying attention. And JD, if you need a spot in South Bend on your next tour, my living room is open.