Perhaps best known as the leader of the now-defunct band Squirrel Nut Zippers, Jimbo Mathus is returns with a raw, ambitious six-song EP. Moving from stomping Southern rock (“Blue Light”) to dirt-road garage rock (“Haunted John”) to Stones-y white blues (“Fucked Up World”), then back again to a gospel-soaked country ballad (“Burn the Honky Tonk”), Mathus couldn’t be moving any further afield from his old band — which played something that might best be described as ragtime on steroids. Actually, though, Mathus has since been involved with a pair of Buddy Guy projects (Sweet Tea, and Blues Singer), the North Mississippi Allstars (Electric Blue Watermelon) and Luther Dickinson and the Sons of Mudboy (Onward and Upward). So, in a way, everything has been leading up to Mathus’ recent breakthroughs in Southern musical alchemy — a run of thrilling retro-roots triumphs that also includes 2011’s Confederate Buddha. — Nick DeRiso
‘Half Notes’ are quick-take thoughts on music from Something Else! Reviews, presented whenever the mood strikes us.
- The Band’s ‘Christmas Must Be Tonight’ Remains an Unjustly Overlooked Holiday Classic - December 25, 2016
- Nick DeRiso’s Best of 2015 (Rock + Pop): Death Cab for Cutie, Joe Jackson, Toto + Others - January 18, 2016
- Nick DeRiso’s Best of 2015 (Blues, Jazz + R&B): Boz Scaggs, Gavin Harrison, Alabama Shakes - January 10, 2016
