Call him a future legend, he can quite become it in time to come.
These days' blues are borne with a bad sign too often, with too much thought where the deep feelings used to be. This laddie from Atlanta shapes his blues cleverly but right and, aged 24, he might very well be the most versatile blues singer-guitarist since Rory Gallagher has come of age. Be prepared to be pinching yourself to believe a person who's doing the seemingly seasoned swagger of "No One You'd Know" and fathoms the depth of despair in "Just Defy My Love" is indeed that young and that it's the same person who's musing acoustically about "Dark Before The Dawn", all on his own. Mike's mastered the blues lexicon, and there's no affectation in his songs. The music jives, with organ smoothing the guitar angles - and them's all the right angles Lowry bends his strings into. And his vocal chords, too, as you can mistake "Coming Home To You" with its Stax-like brass and Steve Cropper-esque licks for a lost Otis Redding track. It's red hot but, with a pace like that of "Gettin' Burned", you rather enjoy the temperature than be put off. The album has only one downside: it's too short - yet ain't that a good sign of more to come?
***** http://dmme.net/reviews/
