North Mississippi Allstars – Polaris

The difficult third album — it’s a make-or-break point for many an act. They can no longer merely re-create the sound that garnered acclaim on their debut or tour-tightened second effort. They’re expected to mature and experiment, and if they don’t, it’s a safe bet that those who embraced them early on will write them off as has-beens.

For the North Mississippi Allstars, album number three turns out to be not that difficult at all. Rather, it sounds effortless and meets those expectations with nary a hint of pretension. But then again, Luther and Cody Dickinson, the sons of legendary producer Jim Dickinson, have made more than three records. The pair got their ya-ya’s out in the punk band DDT, and following the release of the second Allstars album, 51 Phantom, they and bassist Chris Chew took part in a gospel-blues instrumental project called The Word.

Now expanded to a quartet with the addition of R.L. Burnside’s multi-instrumentalist son Duwayne, the Allstars bring it all back home on Polaris. From the pure pop of “Kids These Daze” and a cover of Earl King’s “Time For The Sun To Rise” — which sounds like the Feelies meeting the Beach Boys — to the blues-rap stomp of “Be So Glad”, Polaris suggests the North Mississippi Allstars will shine brightly for years to come. As one song title puts it, “One To Grow On”, indeed.