ALBUM REVIEW: North Mississippi Allstars’ Cody Dickinson Sticks Close to Home on Solo Debut
Jon Young
Posted On June 19, 2024
“No problem! Only solution! Love riot!” exclaims the irrepressible Cody Dickinson near the end of Homemade, summing up this supremely satisfying album quite nicely. On his first solo outing, the co-pilot (along with brother Luther) of Americana mainstays North Mississippi Allstars makes a joyful noise as he celebrates the restorative powers of family and music, expertly playing the wise downhome philosopher.
Cody Dickinson (photo by Bob Bayne)
Homemade employs a familiar recipe, echoing his band’s greasy barroom stew of blues, roots rock, country, soul, and what have you. What is surprising, though, is how he arrived at the delightful finished product. Apart from vocals by Southern Avenue’s Tikyra Jackson on two tracks, Dickinson did everything himself, an especially impressive feat for someone seeking to create a sultry, loose-limbed vibe similar to that of the Allstars. This nimble one-man wrecking crew mixes scruffy guitars and all manner of funky keyboard racket, driving the grooves with his usual razor-sharp drums and topping it off with his happily rough vocals, sometimes overdubbing a gang of singing Codys to simulate a cheerful mob. It takes a lot of work to sound this casual!
The album launches in rollicking fashion on “Homemade Blues,” a salute to the Hill Country blues that inspired the Allstars, namechecking Junior Kimbrough and R.L. Burnside. The swaggering “Big City” continues his ode to this gutbucket style, but much of Homemade zeroes in on relationships, from casual hookups to tight family bonds. While the high-octane “Easy” makes chance encounters seem like a great idea, “Homewrecker” sets remorseful second thoughts to a furious beat, confessing, “In my dying days / I hear the lord calling me … In a vision I see his face / Disappointment and disgrace.” So much for cheap thrills.
The deeper joys of a happy home elevate Homemade. In the charming toe-tapper “Walk Right In” Dickinson declares, “I’m sanctified / Two kids and a wife … She just walked right in and showed me what it’s all about.” Elsewhere, the peppy “Goodbye Albuquerque, Tuesday Night” finds him racing back to loved ones in Arkansas. Dickinson incorporates the babbling of his infant daughter, Mavis, into the track, which could have been cloying, but is downright adorable.
Dickinson puts it all into perspective on the traditional closing song, “Can’t Feel at Home,” a rousing, gospel-infused reminder that this too shall pass. In the meantime, Homemade makes a powerful case for a fulfilling life in the here and now.
Cody Dickinson’s Homemade is out June 21 on Strong Place Music.
