I reviewed this group’s last couple discs and dug them, so I was looking forward to this one.  It definitely didn’t disappoint. It’s very much a roots rock meets jam band and world music album. There are other elements here and there, but however you slice it, this is a smoking hot slab of music.

This review is available in book format (hardcover and paperback) in Music Street Journal: 2012  Volume 4 at lulu.com/strangesound.

Here’s a cool rock and roll tune with some country and blues in the mix. It’s a tasty number and a nice way to start things off in style.

Somehow this makes me think of the Grateful Dead in a lot of ways. It’s a killer rocker with a lot of retro sounds. There are some nice keyboard bits on this and it’s just a great soulful rock and roll tune.

There’s a bit of a Latin groove to this along with a retro pop rock sound. It’s a good tune that has a little bit of a world music vibe. It’s just not up the same level as the two that preceded it. It features some particularly cool keyboard sounds.

Here we get a balladic number that’s more like a singer songwriter meets classic rock tune.

There’s a lot of zydeco on this bouncy little number.

I love the soulful female vocals on this cut. It’s stomping little number that’s well based on R & B.

There’s definitely a lot of that old school, down home zydeco sound on this tune. It’s got some tasty guitar playing and really works well.

Here’s an effective and evocative rock ballad-style tune. It’s a good cut that works well. It definitely has a Grateful Dead vibe at times.

The zydeco returns with this mid-tempo number. It’s an effective one.

Here’s a cut that’s more typical of a classic rock song. It’s mid-tempo and has a great musical tone and a lot of layers of vocals.

While there’s almost progressive rock or jazz air to the music on this classic rocker, a few parts feel a bit awkward, like they tried to put too many words into too short of a space.

Perhaps this is best described as a jam band song. There’s plenty of classic rock and it has some great instrumental moments. There isn’t a lot of singing (in fact, just a chorus with only the title as the lyrics), but when the music’s this cool, who cares.

There seems to be a touch of reggae on this number, but overall it’s just a very effective mid-tempo rocker that works really well. This is arguably the strongest piece on show, and that makes it a great choice for disc closer.