Few rock bands in the 2000s are more evocative of a specific geography than Florida's Mofro. You can almost smell the backwoods swamps of the Sunshine State when you're listening to their dusky blend of Southern rock, blues, and soul. The first thing that grabs you about Mofro's sophomore CD is the deep, soulful grooves that permeate every song, whether on up-tempo funky workouts or lowdown gritty laments. Repeated listens reveal a range of subject matter that moves from domestic abuse to rural overdevelopment to the lost innocence (and cuisine) of youth. As a songwriter JJ Grey presents a well-rounded picture of Southern life, with room for both pride and, in some cases, shame, and his expressive, grits-and-gravy voice is the perfect vehicle to deliver it. Lochloosa is an unpretentious, moving, and inviting album that settles into a humid groove from the onset and never leaves it behind. --Marc Greilsamer