BLOODKIN Bloodkin is a study in contrasts. The band’s guitars can go full-tilt Crazy Horse crunchy or swing like the Stones at their most country-fried. Rebel rockers to the core, Bloodkin’s ragged but right songwriting is closer to the romantic alt-traditionalism of Son Volt than the swagger of Skynyrd. Vocalist Daniel Hutchens waxes lovelorn and literate, but the cut-and-paste impressionism of ‘50s Beat poets is as much a lyrical influence as the moss-festooned loquacity of Faulkner. And despite decades of excellence, Bloodkin’s greatest exposure still comes from cover versions of the band’s songbook by neo-hippie jammers Widespread Panic. Few bands both define and transcend Southern rock as deftly as Bloodkin. It’s the group’s strength, and curse. (Pat Moran)

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