It's hard to call the Georgia quartet
Blackberry Smoke Southern Rock revivalists. Rather, they work in a tradition carved out by
Lynyrd Skynyrd and
the Allman Brothers Band back in the '70s.
Gregg Allman sings on "Free on the Wing," the closing track on
Like an Arrow, the band's first album for Thirty Tigers, and
Skynyrd is often used as a comparison point for the band, but
Like an Arrow makes it plain that
Blackberry Smoke is a close cousin of the
Black Crowes -- a band that sifts through the past to pick its favorite rock, not necessarily pledging allegiance to sounds made south of the Mason-Dixie line. Often what impresses on
Like an Arrow are the songs and passages that don't sound strictly Southern -- dexterous, wah-wah-fueled breakdowns, lean three-chord rockers, and sun-kissed ballads designed for a Sunday afternoon. The latter reveals one of the tricks in
Blackberry Smoke's quiver: whether they're writing a brawny rocker or a delicate ballad, they're good songwriters, sculpting sturdy songs that can withstand both the road and the years. That's why
Like an Arrow doesn't quite feel fresh, despite a few funky flairs: it's a record that's deliberately part of a tradition, so it seems like it could've been released at any point in the past four decades. That is also its strength -- from the songs to the slyly sinewy performances,
Like an Arrow doesn't simply feel like it's built to last, it feels like it's been kicked around the block a few times and has emerged all the stronger for it. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine