Mystical Pinball New West Records****

You know what to expect with a John Hiatt album, and there is something reassuring about that worn, wiry voice and his gritty songs from the American underbelly. Hiatt’s 21 solo albums, plus or minus, have a rich seam of dirty realism running through them – songs of survival and survivors hewn from bitter experience. They relate his own story and those of a “million other jerks”.

On Mystic Pinball, his meat-and- potatoes diet of retro bluesy rock'n'roll and heartfelt ballads is delivered with real flair and punch by his band of seasoned veterans. There are lots of standouts: We're Alright Now looks back in warm relief; Wood Chipper is a grim take from the grave; You're All the Reason I Need is a ringing ode to love; No Wicked Grin shows his sensitive side; and One of Those Damn Days and Give It Up dwell on the perils of excess, something of which Hiatt once knew a thing or two. johnhiatt.com

Download tracks:You're All the Reason I Need, No Wicked Grin