Phil Cook – Southland Mission

Southland Mission may be Phil Cook’s debut solo album, but it comes enriched by a decade of experience. In addition to his stretch as one-third of Megafaun, Cook has honed his skills and style playing with the likes of Matthew E. White, Hiss Golden Messenger and The Blind Boys of Alabama – all invaluable prep for an album that takes its cues from the trad end of the musical spectrum, mixing bluesgrass, southern rock, gospel and more.

Ain’t it Sweet gets things off to a rollicking start, with honkytonk piano and carefree vocal harmonies conveying the footloose vitality of a barroom jam. A banjo-led cover of Charlie Parr’s 1922 follows, its rousing, down-but-not-out lyrics and bottleneck slide all but stealing the show from under Cook’s self-composed tunes. But with Lowly Road’s moody blues and Gone’s soulful, stripped back finale still to come on the record’s flipside, Mission’s accomplishments are ultimately all Cook’s own.