Brent Cobb - Southern Star

Having moved back home to Georgia from Nashville, while grieving the death of his close friend, Jason "Rowdy" Cope of The Steel Woods, Brent Cobb's sixth studio record, Southern Star, is defined by change.

It's an album that's loudest in its understated moments. It's a love letter to the south that may brew up soulful, nostalgic memories of springtime and barbecues, but it speaks to a higher power - a sense of fulfilment and being that sometimes can only be found when you return to your very core. 'It's a Start' and 'Patina' may seem earnest, but both are wonderfully understated - offering a sense of warmth and healing that only home can offer.

The songs are a complimentary mix of southern-fried funky-tonk and '70s songwriting, all tied by a comfortingly loose playfulness, one that pays commendation to Cobb's meticulous creativity. Each sultry lick of the keys on 'On't Know When' or each wrasp of the harmonica on the swampy skronk of 'Devil Ain't Done' evoke not only the soul of southern music, but the noises that surround him as he perches on his front porch, taking in the world around him and all that it offers.

Cobb has this way of leaving an indelible mark on you when you didn't even realise he was holding the pen. With Southern Star, he distills this into his finest and most refined album yet.

9/10

Southern Star is out now via Ol' Buddy Records / Thirty Tigers.

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