Young Austin-based guitarist and singer Nick Curran revs up his jump blues with a strong infusion of rockabilly energy, but it's his inherent feel for vintage R&B that makes his music work. On his third recording, Curran, with the help of honking saxes, jazzy upright bass lines, and propulsive piano from Matt Farrell, conjures a sound that energetically radiates retro authenticity. Jimmie Vaughan provides scintillating second-guitar support on a couple of songs, and harmonica hero Gary Primich also joins in on a couple of tunes, but the singer is the show. Curran, with a cool, confident vocal swagger, is perfectly suited for the music, and he reinforces that affinity with carefully selected material, topping off a half-dozen of his original, in-the-tradition tunes with minor masterpieces from the classic Charles Brown catalog. Curran, who has worked with hard country singer Wayne Hancock, rockabilly rebel Ronnie Dawson, and Kim Lenz and Her Jaguars, also funks up Hank Williams's country standard "Cold Cold Heart" with a Doug Sahm-style vocal and arrangement before closing out the album with the jumping and jiving instrumental "Stompin' at the Fort." --Michael Point