JJ Grey & Mofro

Georgia Warhorse (Alligator)

While generally lumped in with the unsinkable jam band scene, JJ Grey & Mofro are another creature entirely. Their fifth disc, Georgia Warhorse, is named after a particularly resilient type of Southern grasshopper, surely a simile for the Florida-based Grey’s career. While there are nods to the Allman Brothers and the Black Crowes, Grey and friends rollick a brand of blue-eyed soul and swamp funk that isn’t easily classified. Featuring Andrew Trube and Anthony Farrell of Austin’s Greyhounds, Warhorse is nevertheless unexpectedly low key and balled heavy, sometimes excruciatingly so, as on the drawn-out “King Hummingbird.” Then there’s the explicit “Slow, Hot & Sweaty,” which demonstrates that Grey’s less than capable with a metaphor. “The Hottest Spot in Hell” suffers the same fate, although it’s saved by a jaunty band excursion, the kind that could have infused some life into this Warhorse. (Noon, Budweiser stage)

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This article appears in October 8 • 2010.

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