(Brushfire Records)

www.brushfirerecords.com

G. Love has chosen wisely to put hip-hop freestyling on the backburner and wander down the dusty back roads of the blues. Helping him along the journey are Americana dominators the Avett Brothers, who brought Love down to the North Carolina Mountains to record this roots orgy that mixes reverence to the past with forward-thinking urban swagger.

The title track starts off with a roar, as the Bukka White Delta traditional gets turned into an energetic hipster tent revival with soaring ragged harmonies and a pulsing stomp-clap backdrop. Love also sweetly delivers his own Appalachian folk-style ballad in perfect harmony with Scott Avett's lullaby banjo roll on "Katie Miss," and there's a killer harmonica-driven hoedown outro to the stripped take on Paul Simon's "50 Ways to Leave Your Lover."

On the down side, weary traveler lament "The Road" is only made believable by the Avetts' genuine Southern accents, and the hill country pluck of "Milk and Sugar" deserved better subject matter than coffee condiments. Love hasn't quite hit the crossroads, but he's headed in the right direction.

DOWNLOAD: "Fixin' to Die," "Katie Miss" JEDD FERRIS