ROUND-UP: BLUES
By Henry Yates
Marcus King: an album that’s gritty, punchy and hooky.
Marcus King
Young Blood
AMERICAN RECORDINGS/REPUBLIC
Among blues musicians, citing Marcus King as the genre’s great white hope is fast becoming an interview cliché to rival “We just make music for ourselves, man.” The acolytes aren’t wrong, though, and this second solo album from the 26-year-old South Carolina guitarist is gritty, punchy and hooky, nodding to the fat-free powertrio format of the late-60s.