"California Trap", one of the best soul-blues albums I've heard this year. After seven albums leading The Kilborn Alley Blues Band and two with The Dig 3, guitarist, singer, and songwriter Andrew Duncanson, from Champaign, Illinois, makes his solo debut with this studio work produced by Michael Peloquin, who also handled the arrangements for the exquisite horn section and played both saxophone and harmonica. Alongside them, there's the always incomparable contribution of Kid Andersen on guitars, Jim Pugh and Baxter Robertson on keyboards, and the unbeatable rhythm section of Jerry Jemmott on bass and Derrick "D'Mar" Martin on drums. The horns, Mike Rinta (trombone), Mike Rose and Ed Morrison (trumpets), and Doug Rowan (baritone sax) nuance the songs with great aesthetic conception, turning them into exquisite works of sublime beauty.
Duncanson is an exceptional vocalist, powerful and warm at the same time, with a voice that rises above the rest thanks to his phrasing and impeccable timing, an emotional and moving voice, the finest embodiment of the contemporary songster. Soul and blues in the 21st century, modern and unapologeti, "California Trap" is a musical work that perfectly defines the meaning of roots music in these times of creative uncertainty.