484 South Band: 21 Miles of Bad Road

There was a time when there were no petty distinctions among country music, rock ’n’ roll and blues, and the 484 South Band does what it can to get those paths to meet up again on 21 Miles of Bad Road. “Love Me” opens up like a hog on a long stretch of open highway with just enough rockabilly swing and grit to make you thankful that you wore your dancing boots. “I Drown” is a blistering Southern rock showdown. “Southern Angel” feels like a wistful power ballad.

“Baton Rouge Tonight” perhaps oversells our fair city’s charms a bit, but I’m with them in sentiment. Ours is a place with a great bar-band tradition, and yet those bands tend to tidy things up too much in the studio. 484 South gets the balance right.

“All Night Long” shakes the beer sign off the walls of this record, while “Life Worth Living” could accompany a cinematic breakup montage. “Fades” sounds like that Neil Young song you forgot all about until it came on the radio.

21 Miles of Bad Road won’t take you to any new country rock territory, but like that 2 a.m. autopilot, it might get you back home. 484southband.com

Recommended if you like: Drive-By Truckers, Zac Brown Band, the sound of parking lot gravel under a pickup tire

Essential tracks: “Southern Angel,” “I Drown,” “Fades”