Boomerang [LP]

is the third offering from . It marks the trio's recording debut with drummer , a session and touring ace who spent six years with . Founding bassist is back of course, and the band enlists a small and select list of guests on various tracks. Inside the recording's cover sleeve are the words "....dedicated to my friend Johnny Winter. Thank you for the memoriesâ?¦." 's influence on ' playing is incalculable and acknowledged. But on , recorded after 's death, the music is a direct reflection of his unruly good-time spirit. Check the title track where ' phrasing combines both early Texas and Delta blues in the intro in the same fashion did. Both acoustic and electrified resonators are placed on stun, wrangling over 's fuzzed-out choogling bass boogie. When he takes his guitar break, one can hear traces of "Meantown Blues" in its cadence. The funky seven chords that introduce "Tell Me Your Mine" recall but the swampy, riff-laden crunch is pure , all swaggering bluster and six-string fire. 's fat tom-tom attack adds so much more to the bottom end -- even in the most basic shuffles -- than 's drumming did. It's less about the rock power trio tip and more about the blues rock pocket. "Morning Glory," a short, acoustically driven Delta-inspired rumbler, is a nice change of pace for this band, as are the boogie rockers "If You Don't Love Me" and "Long Gone," which come complete with ringing guitar hooks and 's bass on throb. & 's "Trouble" is done in classic Chicago style, but recalls 's rowdy ass studio sessions with , while 's "How Many More Years" almost comes off the rails with its coil of careening, razor-wired waves of solo guitar -- playing boogie with this kind of swing reveals just how tight this band is. is far more consistent than 2011's ; it returns to the inspired and energized sound of the band's self-titled 2008 offering. ~ Thom Jurek