North Mississippi Allstars fans will likely recognize the name. This is the moniker that the blues-rockers used when playing the 2004 Bonnaroo festival with an expanded lineup. In 2009 it then become a side project (the group apparently prefers the word "extended band") of the original three piece, revived as
NMAS guitarist
Luther Dickinson took a leave of absence to join the
Black Crowes for that act's 2008 tour and album,
Warpaint. Brother Cody Dickinson used the downtime to his advantage, stepping out from behind the drum set to play guitar and be frontman in this new combo. It features All-stars bassist Chris Chew and seven songs written by
R.L. Burnside's son Garry (who also contributes occasional guitar). The resulting music sounds, perhaps not surprisingly, like a more rootsy
NMAS album. The
Allstars' funk, occasional hip-hop and psychedelia have been stripped away to reveal a gruff, gritty, electrified swamp stomp, with occasional, not so subtle nods to the
Allman Brothers Band. It's a tougher, harder edged attack that's a bit bulkier than the
Allstars, predominantly due to guests on each track, one of which is brother
Luther. While there's little
NMAS lovers haven't heard, these ten tunes nail a rugged groove and lock onto it with the offhand tightness of an act that understands the genre and blows through this driving material without pretention or artifice. Two Burnside brothers, Garry and
Duwayne contribute electric guitar to various tracks, but since there aren't individual credits, it's difficult to pick out who's playing what. Garry Burnside has a knack for writing a hook so even if the lyrics aren't going to rival anything in the
Dylan catalog ("Dirty Shirt," "Let Me Love You," and "You Can Make It" are as simplistic as they seem), this is about killer riffs and a rocking vibe. Two
R.L. Burnside covers bring additional authenticity to a bunch of guys who have lived, breathed, and been baptized in this crusty blues boogie by being born and raised in Mississippi. Cody's legendary father Jim Dickinson is aboard as "director," and he likely keeps the sound appropriately soulful and sweaty. Songs such as the slow grinding "Let's Talk about You and Me" sound as slimy and muddy as the Mississippi river in the heat of the summer as the slide guitar grinds away against
Hill Country Revue's bedrock rhythm section. This is unapologetically gutsy Southern blues-rock, played as raw and edgy as anything on the Fat Possum label and with arguably more energy. ~ Hal Horowitz