Kevin Bronson on April 2nd, 2019

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Singer-songwriter Luke Messimer once co-fronted the O.C. folk-rock band Mississippi Man before he departed Southern California for parts north. After living in Portland for several years, he decamped to Boise, Idaho, the home base of the new quartet MESSIMER.

Joined by Reggie and Dalton Mace and touring member Josh Lewis, the new band draws inspiration from “Revolver”-era Beatles, Nilsson and Weezer to forge a sound that orbits the worlds of contemporaries such as Dr. Dog, Delta Spirit and Deer Tick. A couple of years ago, Messimer emptied his cupboard, releasing a compilation of 32-tracks he’d penned and recorded over a decade. Now he’s starting (and sounding) fresh.

MESSIMER’s early batch of songs reveals the rawboned honesty of a writer comfortable to look in the mirror — and, in the case of “I Know I Should,” the rear-view mirror. In that latest single, Messimer looks back on the halcyon days of his twenties, an era filled with “too many regrets, too many hard lessons, and too much bourbon.” The aftereffects of the latter can be felt in the barroom stomp of “Loose,” in which he confesses that, despite his foibles, he doesn’t “want to be left alone.” Would that a 3 1/2-minute rock song could elicit that kind of forgiveness, but here’s to trying.

||| Stream: “I’m Not a Fool,” “Share” and “Loose”

||| Live: MESSIMER plays the Wayfarer in Costa Mesa on Saturday night, along with the Sugar, Kilo Bravo and Filmspeed. Tickets. Also, MESSIMER, along with Carly & The Universe, New Balance and New Media, play the Hotel Café on Saturday night. Tickets.