REPEAT OFFENDER by Mid-Atlantic country rocker Jim Mitchell is an album right on the mark meeting a range of listeners on shared terms. It varies in style balancing on a narrow beam while relatively straightforward to define. The back story to this artist in published bios is rich adding spice and an outlaw mystique when tuning in. The vocals are lived in and the overarching sensation is a road tested approach to making music with a sense of purpose and vibrancy.
Ten tracks quantify the record with an added nuance of the styles rolling out in a near-cyclical sequence. We start off with a couple of robust straight up rockers occasionally described as the heartland fraternity. First to grace your ears is the brash anthem 'Why You Rockin' On Me', a beaut at the heart of promoting the record with its crafted video presence. The landscape created sits perfectly for follow on number 'Running the Gauntlet' before a subtle shift begins.
Over the course of three songs, the country effect gradually intensifies. 'Don't Come Crying to Me' breaks the rocking rhythm before we start getting into implicit territory with the self explanatory 'Just Like Old Hank'. The crowning country moment comes in the duet 'No Part of Nothing Good'. A song lingering in the pool of the timeless and traditional is a worthy standout with the country specs on.
Rather than remain static in the country zone, Mitchell switches into rock 'n' roll mode with the ripping and riotous 'Hillbilly (with a R 'n' R Heart)'. Shades of punk emerge and we know too well how that can gel with roots music of a certain ilk. We then hear brakes screeching as the timely breather track 'Honky Tonk Angels (and Sad Old Songs)' quells the frantic pace to refuel.
Title song 'Repeat Offender' is probably the neutral track on the album paving the way for the finishing line to rock almost as much as the opening. 'Hell and High Water' is an evocative title to signal a return to the rocking vibes that frame the start. We are still in similar territory at the end, but this time Mitchell leans on the work of others, namely a cover of Bob Dylan's 'Seven Years'.
You sense being in the capable hands of a smart cookie who knows the ropes. Three corners of the roots emporium are nailed - country, rock 'n' roll, roots rock - and the image of these songs flooding a smallish venue come to light. REPEAT OFFENDER brings songs from the heart, head and trusted guitar. Throw in some pedal steel adding flavour and verve and you are left with an optimal space between delivering artist and receiving listener. Jim Mitchell surfs the vibrant seas of emotive roots music, pricking emotion along the way and planting a very fine album for folks to tap into.
