LIKE AN ARROW

It's hard to call the Georgia quartet Blackberry Smoke Southern Rock revivalists. Rather, they work in a tradition carved out by Lynyrd Skynyrd and the Allman Brothers Band back in the '70s. Gregg Allman sings on "Free on the Wing," the closing track on Like an Arrow, the band's first album for Thirty Tigers, and Skynyrd is often used as a comparison point for the band, but Like an Arrow makes it plain that Blackberry Smoke is a close cousin of the Black Crowes -- a band that sifts through the past to pick its favorite rock, not necessarily pledging allegiance to sounds made south of the Mason-Dixie line. Often what impresses on Like an Arrow are the songs and passages that don't sound strictly Southern -- dexterous, wah-wah-fueled breakdowns, lean three-chord rockers, and sun-kissed ballads designed for a Sunday afternoon. The latter reveals one of the tricks in Blackberry Smoke's quiver: whether they're writing a brawny rocker or a delicate ballad, they're good songwriters, sculpting sturdy songs that can withstand both the road and the years. That's why Like an Arrow doesn't quite feel fresh, despite a few funky flairs: it's a record that's deliberately part of a tradition, so it seems like it could've been released at any point in the past four decades. That is also its strength -- from the songs to the slyly sinewy performances, Like an Arrow doesn't simply feel like it's built to last, it feels like it's been kicked around the block a few times and has emerged all the stronger for it. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine