After a great Country Blues soaked debut a couple of years back the second album by Mississippi Stomp takes a more traditional Rock ‘n’ Roll approach to what are essentially a rather lean and lusty collection of eight Southern Rock songs. Cut in an amazing 5 hours there’s a real grit and urgency here as well as a remarkable ‘live’ sounding feel to the record.
Opener ‘Train Train’ and second up ‘Other Side’ both have that homesick feel though the fire of the first track is tempered by the more mid-tempo follow up. As introductions go it’s a real nice easing into the music of Mississippi Stomp. ‘One Song’ that follows is laid back, cool and molasses sweet. It’s the sort of song that transports you elsewhere and sweeps with tiered highlights, like when the female vocal kicks in after the male lead, and then again when the solo seeps in.
And in truth it gets even better: ‘Wrong Side’ is a darker tale of injustice at the hands of the law and stands as a real song-writing highlight; whilst ‘Break that Chain’ provides a real foot-stomper and a cry for something more, something else. The swampy and muddy ‘Hell Pine Hollar’ then takes us on the search for lost love before ‘Zodie’ changes it up again – landing a psychedelic rocker driven by a swirling acoustic and hypnotic drums.
The final word ‘Shine’ leaves you with a plaintive and yearning feeling that anything might happen next when you set out after that dream. In reality reality the most likely scenario is that you are just going to play this all over again.
These guys and gals from Elvis’ hometown of Tupelo really know how to get beneath the skin with their take on the music that oozes out of the rich Mississippi delta. If you love bands like The Drive By Truckers but without the darkness and madness this is the sweet sound you’ve been looking for.