Samantha Fish - Wild Heart

Samantha Fish headed south for Wild Heart, and the result is a muddy, sweaty, gloriously loud record steeped in the hill country blues of Mississippi.

Released in 2015, the Kansas City guitarist's third album was produced by Luther Dickinson of the North Mississippi Allstars, who also plays bass, lap steel, mandolin and extra guitar throughout. Recorded across studios in Shreveport, Memphis and Mississippi, it pairs Fish with drummer Brady Blade and a pair of Memphis backing singers for a sound that is as much gospel-charged rock as it is blues.

Road Runner kicks the doors open with a gritty, driving riff, and Highway's Holding Me Now carries the restless pull of a long night behind the wheel. Go Home stretches out past six minutes, while Jim Lee Blues Pt. 1 reaches back to Charley Patton with Dickinson on mandolin, Lightnin' Malcolm on guitar and the stomping drums of Sharde Thomas.

The record closes with a take on Junior Kimbrough's I'm in Love With You, a fitting tribute to the region that shaped it.

It's a confident, fiery statement from a player who was fast becoming one of the most exciting guitarists in modern blues, and it sounds tremendous turned up loud on a Saturday night.