The very soulful Eric Lindell has a new album that reflects well on his status as a fine young talent who has nowhere to go but up into the musical stratosphere.

Lindell's "Low on Cash, Rich in Love" (Alligator) is a trek into his swampy New Orleans style, but with a little more sophistication in the grooves than one might expect from the style.

He's polished his sound a little on this outing, obvious in the writing and the music. I guess it's called growth.

None of that means that this easy, laid-back music lacks emotion or feeling. To the contrary, Lindell pours his heart into what he does. Maybe we should call it friendly soul. He's a fine writer and an excellent musician, who's developed into a major maker of music that's hard to categorize, except to say that's it's pure Americana.

He brings his relaxed native West Coast vibe to the lively New Orleans style, with touches of good old-fashioned R&B and soul music in his vocals. Maybe it's Lindell's attitude that makes the music -- or more accurately, his lack of attitude. The music flows naturally from his creative spirit to expand yours.

All but one of the tracks here are original, a tribute to Lindell's songwriting skills. Songs like "Lay Back Down" and "Low on Cash" flow easily, but still swampy and sinuous.

Adding to the mix is his band. It's a cliche to say that it's tight, but it's certainly very, very snug. Chris Mule on guitar, Aaron Wilkinson on bass and Chris Pluant on drums provide the basics, Blake Nolte and Jimmy Carpenter adding sexy saxes, with Mark Adams on piano and organ make it a terrific ensemble. The horns add real R&B flavor to the mix.

Lindell was a player at the Pittsburgh Blues Festival last year, and his set was a pleasure to watch. The live show was livelier in some ways than the album, but that's what happens at live shows. (Here's the BlueNotes take on that show.)

I guess it's not exactly blues that he makes, but it's close enough to the spirit for BlueNotes.

Blues in pictures

George Hunt is an artist who's been painting pictures of the blues for many years. Here's an article about his work.

And because that article doesn't really show what he did, here's a site that does.