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Living in a Burning House
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Living in a Burning House
Current price: $20.99
Barnes and Noble
Living in a Burning House
Current price: $20.99
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Since beginning his tenure with
on 2014's fine
, Florida bluesman
has shown a restless spirit. That set established him as a top-shelf guitar and lap steel wrangler. 2017's
underscored those qualities in reflections of Hill Country, raw roadhouse, and Chicago blues, tempered by gritty R&B. On
,
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
on reeds and woodwinds, bassist
, keyboardist
, and recent drummer
.
has a big, ferocious sound thanks to
's production and mix; it's in your face and exquisitely detailed. The horn and organ intro on "I'd Climb Mountains" recalls a
revue, before
leads the band in a cut-time blues shuffle.
's multi-tracked horns help punch up a massive, greasy groove that recalls an early
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
-- introduces the poignant title-track single. It gives way to a steamy, roiling reggae vamp propelled by
's bass line and
's keys. It's snatched back under the funky blues umbrella in
's guitar playing. His voice and phrasing bridge the otherworldly span between
and
. "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
'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
's electric choogle to
's evil moan, and a burning boogie
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