Florida soulster offers his seventh album in unique style
Hailing from Jacksonville, This River is singer-songwriter JJ Grey's seventh album. And my lord, does it make use of that experience. If a songwriter's craft is to shape the entirety of human experience into a few carefully chosen phrases, then JJ Grey is surely an artisan. One minute this rocks and rolls, bumps and grinds, and then turns on a dime to soulful, with an keen eye for human observation.
With vintage blues having such a renaissance, it's rare to find something so pure and genuine that it near breaks your heart to hear it. Kicking off in style with the funked out Your Lady, She's Shady, Grey's skill is in setting the scene for a story to play out without compromising the beats. You could be living it; that moment where you tell a friend a few home truths about their relationship. Except you're too busy trying to stop your body from attempting to dance of its own accord.
Blending Memphis soul and funk with Southern rock it's impossible not to move to this, even to smoother, slinkier tracks like Somebody Else. Grey's storytelling is showcased perfectly with Tame a Wild One and The Ballad of Larry Webb, chronicles of human folly and faith emphasised by Grey's gritty and soulful vocals. 'All we have is each other' is the simplest yet most powerful of messages.
It's not all ponderous shoegazing, it rocks out. 99 Shades of Crazy and Harp & Drums are party-starters, Southern style. It's natural style of blending all the instruments into a groove with the emphasis on the steady drumbeats giving it a very homegrown and organic feel, without the negative connotations of a 'country' label. Mofro as a band have really hit their stride, packing a hefty punch whilst being restrained enough never to overpower Grey or his lyrics. The only oddity is Florabama an ode to the Southern states. Nice enough but generic compared to the rest of the album.
I've left my personal favourites til last. Write a Letter is a slow burner, with a slow, dreamy sexiness belied by its catchy chorus. Title track This River leaves you with the epic high that only one who has been taken to the lowest lows can feel. It revels in life's mistakes and emerges, battered and bruised but triumphant, with a broken heart, a glass of whisky, and a whole heap of stories to tell. It's nothing too far removed from a well-trodden path, but it's done with passion. And that's all you can ask.