18. BOUND TO MEET THE DEVIL by Julie Rhodes

Any fan of the blues will appreciate this record from 2016, not for some grand guitar work or tight rhythm section (though those are there without a doubt), but for the voice that is Julie Rhodes. Turns out that a couple of years before this album came out, Rhodes was scooping ice cream at a parlor in New England. What a difference two years makes. The standout for me (and the way I discovered the record) is ‘Faith.’ One listen to that track and you know what you’re in store for the duration of the 40 minute album. You can feel Muscle Shoals oozing out of the vinyl.