Recent Alligator Records’ release State of Grace by the Holmes Brothers shares an emphasis on groove and voice with Country Ghetto, the newest release from Mofro. Both albums are far from the sort of 12-bar, guitar solo-oriented blues we rightly or wrongly associate with the label. JJ Grey’s rich, raspy growl should be front and center; it’s a strong instrument that has one foot in Stax soul and one in southern rock.

This record features a big Mofro, one with horns, strings and a choir in places. The B3 organ is central to the sound, but the title track is all guitar and instrumental in a swampy groove that’s more Tony Joe White than CCR. I’m not sold on Grey’s linking of rural and inner city life in the title track, but the wiry guitar and his commitment to the song are sufficiently compelling that, for the duration of the song’s four minutes, I’m with him.