Though he's often recorded and toured with expert musicians, the New York-based songwriter seems most at home alone, though his sound is anything but spare. There’s something instantly recognizable and compelling in the way his acoustic or electric guitar churns out rhythms, the way his baritone calls out intricate rhymes. Buckner moved from label to label in his younger days, but he’s now found a home on Merge Records, which has recently reissued some of his early recordings, with hopes of a new album in 2010. Buckner performed at the Billiken Club on September 22, 2009.