Gourds guitarist Kevin Russell launched
Shinyribs back in 2010 but like any good soul music, his side project has only deepened with age.
I Got Your Medicine is the fourth album he's released under the
Shinyribs moniker and it's a bit of an understated wonder. Firmly rooted in the Gulf Coast, alternating between soul and stomping swamp pop,
I Got Your Medicine not only sounds right -- this is music that celebrates tradition without being beholden to it -- but the songs are smart and surprising, following conventions but celebrating the detours on a familiar path. The cover of
Allen Toussaint's "A Certain Girl," arriving at the album's midpoint, reveals a lot: it's loose and funny, cherishing the groove as much as the words. The same could be said about
I Got Your Medicine at large: it's funny, heartfelt, and dirty, a retro-soul album that never feels stuck in the past. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine