Bman's Blues Report

I just received the newest release (February 18, 2014), Dark Night Of The Soul , from Jimbo Mathus & The Tri-State Coalition and it's really great! I believe that I have every post "Zippers" release from Mathus and every one is different. This one has a common thread with earlier releases, mostly quality and honesty and of course musical integrity. Opening with title track, Dark Night Of The Soul , a very loose rocker with almost Bruce Springsteen like vocals, Mathus creates a sonic wonderland with driving rock sounds. White Angel has a strong R&B influence with a country twist. So many flavors of music cross my mind as I listen to this including Traffic, The Beatles, Badu and Jimi Hendrix. If Mathus has a rock radio breakthrough track coming soon, this may be it. Rock and Roll Trash is a great track with an almost Detroit rock sound featuring young Ziggy Stardust. Excellent! Shine Like A Diamond has a much more easy pop/ballad style with Elvis Costello and V...

J IMBO MATHUS ILLUMINATES HIS ROCK ’N’ ROLL HEART ON DARK NIGHT OF THE SOUL     The former Squirrel Nut Zipper forges a unique collaboration on a new album, due out on Fat Possum Records February 15.   O XFORD, Miss.—Few studio albums have had a birth process like Jimbo Mathus ’ new release, Dark Night of the Soul , due out February 15, 2014 . To create his ninth album, the singer-songwriter spent nearly a year going to Dial Back Sound Studio, near his home in Taylor, Mississippi, to work on new tunes. Dial Back Sound, however, isn’t just any conveniently located studio, but one operated by Fat Possum Records ’ Bruce Watson, who offered Mathus this extended opportunity to create the follow-up to his highly-regarded Fat Possum debut White Buffalo .   Like having a regular gig at a neighborhood bar, Mathus would drop by the studio every couple of weeks and hash out song ideas with engineer/instrumentalist B...