Shades in Bloomington, MN

It took
Doyle Bramhall II
15 years to deliver
Rich Man
, the sequel to 2001's
Welcome
, but only two to follow that 2016 record with
Shades
. Appropriately,
feels looser than its predecessor and more direct, too. Where
was dotted with epics,
Bramhall
keeps things generally concise on
, and he also firmly grounds the album in soul. The first sounds on
may recall the thick, heavy blues grooves of the
Black Keys
but by the time
gets to the chorus of "Love and Pain," he spins the song into classic '60s R&B. He's too restless a musician to stay there -- with
the Greyhounds
, he kicks up some noise on "Live Forever," the
Tedeschi Trucks Band
pulls out some deep blues on a cover of
Bob Dylan
's "Going Going Gone," and he indulges in psychedelia on "Parvanah" -- but he keeps circling back to sounds steeped in Southern soul. It results in a more cohesive album than its predecessor, but it's the lack of fussiness that makes
a better record: now that he's just knocking out songs and records, his music feels bracing and immediate. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine