Phil Cook & His Feat - Hungry Mother Blues (2011)

When he's not roaming around with experimental folk outfit Megafaun, indie rock supergroup GAYNGS, or helping fellow North Carolina musicians, Phil Cook writes peaceful down-home folk. Who'd have guessed? Not I. The release of his new album Hungry Mother Blues was a completely shock to me and if not for a tweet from one of his Megafaun bandmates, I wouldn't have even known the album existed.

Hungry Mother Blues is an all-star set of acoustic tunes played on a multitude of instruments like dobroe, guitar, and banjo inspired by the various genres of the American Heartland namely blues, folk, and country. The tunes are short but succinct, virtuosic but not flashy. With no vocals, nothing distracts from Phil Cook's talent and you can just sit back and enjoy what is no doubt a good instrumental album.

I never knew just a man and his guitar could sound so good but Phil Cook will make a true believer out of you with his simple, rural folk tales. It's music that not only conjures up images of a hot summer day on a shady porch but also of the various characters you can see from it. Give Phil Cook's album a listen via Bandcamp.