Since beginning his tenure with
Alligator Records
on 2014's fine
Don't Call No Ambulance
, Florida bluesman
Selwyn Birchwood
has shown a restless spirit. That set established him as a top-shelf guitar and lap steel wrangler. 2017's
Pick Your Poison
underscored those qualities in reflections of Hill Country, raw roadhouse, and Chicago blues, tempered by gritty R&B. On
Living in a Burning House
,
Birchwood
assembles all that and more with enormous growth as a singer, songwriter, and arranger on these 13 original songs. And, yes, he still plays a hell of a lot of guitar and lap steel.
He is accompanied by
Regi Oliver
on reeds and woodwinds, bassist
Donald Wright
, keyboardist
Walter "Bunt" May
, and recent drummer
Philip Walker
.
has a big, ferocious sound thanks to
Tom Hambridge
's production and mix; it's in your face and exquisitely detailed. The horn and organ intro on "I'd Climb Mountains" recalls a
Stax
revue, before
leads the band in a cut-time blues shuffle.
Oliver
's multi-tracked horns help punch up a massive, greasy groove that recalls an early
Elvin Bishop
date. Fans of
's lap steel playing will dig "I Got Drunk, Laid and Stoned," a scorching barroom anthem with nasty slide and honking baritone sax from
. A knotty horn breakdown -- a la '70s
Stevie Wonder
-- introduces the poignant title-track single. It gives way to a steamy, roiling reggae vamp propelled by
Wright
's bass line and
May
's keys. It's snatched back under the funky blues umbrella in
's guitar playing. His voice and phrasing bridge the otherworldly span between
Gil Scott-Heron
and
Lou Rawls
. "You Can't Steal My Shine" is a strolling rave-up soul-blues with a killer vocal from
. "Revelation" expansively combines Chicago and Delta blues with carnal gospel, and it's anchored by a simple, dirty, throbbing, two-note bass vamp.
delivers a knotty, ladder-climbing guitar break that sounds like it was played with a rusty nail. The interplay between horns, keys, and drums on "Searching for My Tribe" is torn wide open by
's biting, distorted guitar, as he testifies to the core about the relentless search for belonging. "She's a Dime" is swaggering, good-time soul-blues that swings hard in a hip little tribute to
Holland-Dozier-Holland
's "How Sweet It Is to Be Loved by You." It's followed by "One More Time," showcasing the glorious interplay between
's baritone and
's lyrical six-string. His solo bleeds emotion. "Freaks Come Out at Night" is a rancorous dirty blues that weds
R.L. Burnside
's electric choogle to
Howlin' Wolf
's evil moan, and a burning boogie
John Lee Hooker
would bless -- complete with wicked slide work. On
erases arbitrary boundaries between blues- and R&B-based genres. He openly draws from history but situates his original music expansively in the here and now; his many stylistic referents combine in new ways to offer a stubbornly holistic, emotionally resonant, and visionary approach. ~ Thom Jurek