Album Review: The Statesboro Revue 'Jukehouse Revival'

After two years, The Statesboro Revue has returned with their newest album, Jukehouse Revival, due on August 7th. While many artists claim their latest albums as their best work yet, here that phrase absolutely rings true. Co-produced with Gordy Quist and Scott Davis of Band of Heathens, Jukehouse Revival is a unified record that finds the band honing in even further on their one of a kind sound. It is a groove fueled, soulful, joyous, forty minutes of “funky country” that celebrates life, love and hard work.

The collection is bookended by the willowy feel of “Bedroom Floor” and the serious, beautiful (almost religious), emotional "Last Ramble," which focuses on leaving this place for another; encouraging those left behind not to dwell on the sadness that accompanies loss. “When they lay me in the ground don’t let the memories bring you down/Just raise your head and rays around/I’ll be in heaven wearing my crown….Home to a place up in the clouds where poets ramble and the lost are found.”

In between, there are nine additional songs which continue to effortlessly merge rock, funk, blues, country, and soul into something undeniably distinctive and appealing. Garrett Mann’s guitar, along with keys, strings, and harmonica perfectly compliment Stewart Mann’s always soulful, honest delivery whether he is singing about relationships, day to day trials or simply having a good time.

Love is the centerpiece in the funky “Like The Sound of That,” the breezy, yet thumping “Keep You Satisfied” and the mid-tempo “Count On Me.” The bluesy, piano heavy “Like The Sound of That” is about spending time with the one you love, while “Keep You Satisfied,” in which he sings of catching the eye and winning the love of a certain someone, has one of the best descriptive phrases on the record: “helpless, hopeless, eternally focused.” Finally, rich with harmonies, “Count On Me,” is about as romantic as you can get, with him pledging to always be there for the one he loves.

There's a melancholy pleading to “Go Down Slow,” which deals with the daily struggles of trying to make ends meet while trying to remain positive. “Times I think I can’t take it anymore /Throwin’ down like a million times before/And other times I just wanna hold on.” Sure to be a crowd pleaser, “Undone,” focuses on the 9-5 working man’s blues, and the need to take time for oneself and unwind. Keeping that spirit going is the rousing “Honky Tonkin’” and “Roll On Mama” as well as personal favorite “Every Town,” a fantabulous tune with clever lyrics about rumors and a night spent “getting funky” in a “one light town.” Rounding out the album is “Tallahassee.” Co-written with Adam Hood, the fiddle laden, foot stompin’ song finds him finds him back in “baby’s arms,” a better man for the lessons learned in the sunshine state.

Jukehouse Revival will reinvigorate your musical soul whether you are in a juke joint, a dive bar, listening alone in your car or sitting on someone’s front porch. The “Best of 2015” list just got a little longer.

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