Artist: Jimbo Mathus
Album: Confederate Buddha
Bitrate: 215kbps avg
Quality: EAC Secure Mode / LAME 3.98.4 / -V0 / 44.100Khz
Label: Memphis Industries
Genre: Rock
Size: 72.90 megs
PlayTime: 0h 45min 02sec total
Rip Date: 2016-08-05
Store Date: 2016-07-29
Track List:
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01. Jimmy The Kid 3:09
02. Cling To The Roots 3:16
03. Wheel Upon Wheel 3:18
04. Town With No Shame 4:14
05. Leash My Pony 3:10
06. Walks Beside 4:07
07. Glad It's Dark 3:11
08. Aces & Eights 4:53
09. Too Much Water 4:09
10. Kine Joe 3:30
11. Shady Dealing 2:41
12. Days Of High Cotton 5:24
Release Notes:
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Jim Mathus enjoyed a brief fling with fame in the 1990s as the founder of
retro-jazz combo the Squirrel Nut Zippers, but fronting a new band, the
Tri-State Coalition, Mathus (who has rechristened himself Jimbo) is striking out
in a new direction; or more accurately, several directions at once. On his solo
debut, Confederate Buddha, Mathus lets loose with some boogie-friendly Southern
rock ("Jimmy the Kid"), straight-up country twang ("Town with No Shame"), funky
Dixie-fried shuffles ("Kine Joe"), deep blues grooves ("Leash My Pony"), murder
ballads ("Aces and Eights"), and swampy pop/rock story songs ("Walks Beside"),
with Mathus' rich, passionate vocals and a decisively Southern outlook tying
together the various stylistic elements. Mathus is content to jump from genre to
genre on these sessions, and he sounds enthusiastic and very much at home on
every track, while he's put together a band that's capable of just as much
creative shape-shifting as he is, with guitarist Matt "Pizzle" Pierce, drummer
Austin Marshall, and Eric "Carlos" Carlton on keyboards earning especially high
marks on these sessions. Mathus sings well and fronts a fine band on Confederate
Buddha, but his songwriting isn't quite as impressive; he can stitch together a
nice melody, but they don't tend to stick in the ear, and there's a fine line
between embracing a traditional archetype and sinking into clichΘs, and while
the latter would be a bit too harsh a judgment for these songs, it's closer to
the truth than the former. Confederate Buddha offers clear evidence that Mathus
has a genuine feel for Southern music of all stripes, and knows how to bring it
to life, but collaborating with a stronger songwriter might be a good idea
before he begins work on his next album.