Centro-Matic's Will Johnson never runs out of ideas or musical partners. Over the past few years, he's participated in Monsters of Folk (with Jim James, Mike Mogis, Conor Oberst, and M. Ward), New Multitudes (with James, Jay Farrar, and Anders Parker), and Overseas (with David Bazan and Matt and Bubba Kadane). This solo album adds subtle contributions from Centro-Matic's Matt Pence and Scott Danborn, Tre Orsi's Howard Draper, and Magnolia Electric Company's Mikey Kapinus. Despite all that, Scorpion is clearly the Will Johnson show. It plays like a companion piece to Will Oldham's acoustic hours, Bruce Springsteen's Nebraska, and Damien Jurado's darkest nights. Johnson claims to have written the songs during the sessions in order to catch a fresh, in-the-moment feel. Tunes like "Vehicular and True," "Blackest Sparrow/Darkest Night," and the title track are beautifully executed with a simple, minimally adorned quality that brings the emotional pull to the fore. "Rosanky" turns in a distorted performance worthy of Tom Waits.