Antoinette Mercurio

John “JB” Bigham does not sugarcoat anything. The blues singer quickly establishes this brutal, raw emotional energy on the opening track “The Hole” off his latest album The Good Girl Blues. “The Hole” is a snakey, seductive beat where Bigham twangs his guitar and wails that “he’s down in the hole.”

The slow, slithering appeal of “The Moon Blues” reveals Bigham has done his homework and learned from the greats such as Al Green, Miles Davis – whom JB has written songs for – and John Lee Hooker.

“I Got Work” taps into some Motown flavour and showcases a raw, smooth, sexy side of the singer as he croons “anyway you want it / anyway you need / I’m gonna put in some work girl / and bring you to your knees.”

Moving away from the sexiness, JB claims he needs a “Good Girl” and uses his deep, electric guitar to entice the young female to get on the “love train.”

Halfway through the album it’s obvious Bigham is a true blues singer at heart and he wouldn’t feel comfortable in any other genre. His coarse, manly singing paired with intimate, stripped songwriting defines the blues genre in a big way. Rather than try to wing it or play it off as some producer’s side music project, Bigham ingests the blues and spits it back with his own signature on it.

Raw, real and ruthless, JB bangs out the dirty, gritty blues and sucker punches the listener with an old school Southern musical beat down. This is not an album for the faint of heart but definitely one for those who can hold their liquor and gut it out with the best of them.