Blackberry Smoke

★★★ You Hear Georgia THIRTY TIGERS. CD/DL/LP

Atlanta rockers bottle the sound of a Southern roadhouse.

Loose Southern boogie may not be the most fashionable end of country rock, but few other acts have Blackberry Smoke’s natural deep groove. With six previous albums and nearly two decades under their collective snakeskin belt, the band have trod a path all the way from the Allman Brothers’ freeform jamming to The Black Crowes’ zinging slide blues. Outlaw freedoms are cherished, anyone who would clip their blue collar wings can shove it, and the people of the South are just often misunderstood good ol’ boys and gals.

Which is fine as far as it goes, but deep into side two You Hear Georgia starts to drag a little as they ditch the choogle and attempt to foray into the cosmic Americana territory of My Morning Jacket. It’s a step towards self-awareness that simply doesn’t suit them or, most likely, their audience.