Most artists become more conventional as they continue their careers. Frederick James Mullis, Jr. (who goes by Early James, because of course) has instead headed much further to the edge on his third album.

Early James Medium Raw (Easy Eye Recordings)

Part of that is certainly the influence of producer Dan Auerbach, who seems to encourage artists to climb out of their comfort zones and find new aveunes. Early James's vocals are more Alabama swamp, his guitar is both cleaner and more reverb-laden (nice trick, that) and his backing band is much more stripped down.

Indeed, parts of this album sound something like a lost Flat Duo Jets outing, as many of these songs are basically guitar and drums. The main difference in the feel is that Early James is still more beholden to his folk roots, and he's pretty adept at creating and maintaining his own feel.

The songs roll by like a train on the prairie (or perhaps across the Alabama plains), one after another in a steady and pleasing rhythm. I'm not sure how much more he can bore into his core sound, but Early James certainly found new roads on this set. Quite the moan.

Jon Worley