(Hooked Records)

Imagine finding yourself in a ramshackle roadhouse bar, somewhere below the Mason-Dixon Line, where the barkeep has already refilled your bourbon more times than you planned. The lights are low and there’s a haze of cigar smoke in the air, but your attention is suddenly drawn to the guitarist who has started playing on the makeshift stage, and as his music washes over you it’s as if you are transported back to an era of dress hats and Southern sensibilities…

There’s something so very familiar about the tunes of Jarrod Dickenson, drawing on a tradition of Texan music which mixes country and blues with ease, before sliding into an emotional acoustic ballad that threatens to bring tears to the eyes of the hardest redneck.

It comes as something of a shock to learn that this Stetson-topped singer-songwriter might originally hail from the Deep South, but he now rests his hat in Brooklyn, far from the land which has inspired so many of his compositions.

Very familiar, but very fresh at the same time, these are songs which touch on themes close to all of us, from the pitfalls of love to the constant struggle to be the best version of one’s self. Definitely a musician to watch out for.