ON his 12th studio album, “Mr. Love & Justice” (Anti-), due out April 22, Billy Bragg, troubadour of the oppressed and bard of the lovelorn, sings about — you guessed it — love and justice. Mr. Bragg, 50, fancies himself a bit of a punk rocker who writes songs tinged with soul and folk. His inspiration lies in the protest songs of the 1960s. His blend of humor and outrage is evident in songs like “The Johnny Carcinogenic Show,” in which he sings about “grandchildren you will never know.”
After playing at South by Southwest, on “Late Night With Conan O’Brien” and on a bill with the Pogues last month, Mr. Bragg returned home to England to relax with his family at their house on Chessel Beach. He begins his European tour this month with three days of songwriting workshops and a concert at Liverpool Prison on behalf of his foundation, Jail Guitar Doors, which puts guitars in the hands of inmates. He comes to America in June. While looking out his window at the waves, Mr. Bragg spoke by phone with Winter Miller about what he’s listening to now.
Ry Cooder is probably my guitar hero, as much for what he doesn’t play as what he plays. The economy of his playing is something to be admired at a time when guitar players tend to think the more notes you play the better you are. “My Name Is Buddy” (Nonesuch) is up my street because it’s capital-P Political. It’s the story of the Depression told by a cat named Buddy. This does sound a bit odd — he travels around with a mouse and a frog — but it works and hangs together beautifully.
There’s a lot of love in the songs; they fit well in the tradition. Woody Guthrie’s spirit runs through this record very strongly. Cooder plays stuff that we now refer to as Americana, but nobody called it that then. His excursions have been great, but for him to come back to where he began is pretty cool.

nytimes.com