The North Mississippi Allstars have stripped things down a bit for
Hernando, their fifth studio album and the first for the group's recently launched label Songs of the South, merging their usual Southern folk blues sound with elements of metal and even a touch of swing, all of it done with the lean efficiency of a maturing power trio. Led by
Luther Dickinson's soaring slide guitar work and anchored by a thundering rhythm section of brother
Cody Dickinson on drums and
Chris Chew on bass,
NMA on
Hernando are no less than an obvious continuation of the late-'60s blues-rock tradition of
Cream and the Jimi Hendrix Experience, with a little bit of
AC/DC strut thrown in, and while the result isn't perhaps their best album, it isn't far off the mark, either. Recorded and produced by the legendary
Jim Dickinson (father of
Luther and
Cody) at his Zebra Ranch Studio in Coldwater, MS, just a stone's throw up Highway 51 from the band's hometown of Hernando (hence the title), the sound is crisp and thundering, but still retains the ragged looseness that is a
NMA trademark and is also one of its biggest strengths. This is blues-rock done Mississippi style, and if
NMA swaps out a little of its hometown
R.L. Burnside/Otha Turner leanings for the
Led Zeppelin side of the equation, it isn't a drastic shift, and songs like "Keep the Devil Down" and "Eaglebird" (which features
Cody Dickinson on electric washboard of all things and carries a co-writing credit for
Kid Rock's bass player
Aaron Julison) would fit seamlessly into any of
NMA's live sets from the past ten years. Other highlights include the energetic skip-a-long "Mizzip," "Come Go with Me" (with a guest vocal from James Mathus), and a startling version of
Champion Jack Dupree's "I'd Love to Be a Hippie" (sung by bassist
Chew and featuring piano from
East Memphis Slim) that is easily the most striking track on
Hernando. Cut after cut veers off in interesting ways, and
Luther Dickinson's guitar leads are always dangerously reckless and thrilling, echoing early
Hendrix at times. The only thing missing on
Hernando is that North Mississippi fife and drum tradition that
NMA have so wonderfully updated for the rock era on past albums. It's understandable that the band might want to move on from that approach a little (and truthfully, it stills hovers here intangibly in the background), but they have always done it so well that
Hernando seems strangely incomplete and unfinished without it. ~ Steve Leggett