Local, upcoming and noteworthy

Where so many others fall face-first into cliché when mixing funk-inflected rock with rap vocals, Murfreesboro's del giovanni clique skillfully tie those styles together with an uncanny knack for melodies that are unconventional, layered and catchy all at once. Though vocalist Jeff McKinney unapologetically models his phrasing after Rage Against the Machine's Zach De La Rocha, his openness in doing so and his lyrical conviction sufficiently buoy the music. At first, the rest of the band, alternating between chunky, distorted and clean-toned wah-wah grooves, may deceive you into believing that del giovannni's music belongs on modern rock radio. But if they use the same vocabulary as their more generic cousins, the real pleasure in listening to them comes from discovering the offbeat mentality behind their writing.

Without fail, each song from On Display, their latest work, progresses down a path filled not only with unexpected twists but also highly textured, slightly idiosyncratic chords as the basis for each movement. Guitarist Ian Wolczyk's dense guitar work, and the role it occupies in del giovanni's music, is reminiscent of Jane's Addiction's Dave Navarro and U2's The Edge, yet somehow derivative of neither. The rhythm section of David J. Viglione and Jake Caldwell has a true gift for shifting easily between beats, deftly masking their thoughtfulness and complexity. This gift makes del giovanni clique, in a sense, wolves in sheep's clothing and auspiciously poises them on the fence between mainstream and alternative acceptance.

The group celebrate the release of their new record Saturday at Bridgestone's Dancin' in the District, where they'll open for Twista.

—Saby Reyes-Kulkarni

Jefferson Street Bluesmen speak across generations with straight-up, true blues

Two years after their well-received live debut album, the Jefferson Street Bluesmen scored again last March with their follow-up, Blues in the Street (available locally at both Tower stores). Consisting of four deeply seasoned veterans who range in age from 58 to 83, this combo prove that the blues, served up straight and true, can speak across generations. Their sound may go back to the pre-interstate days of Jump Street in the '50s and '60s, but they keep alive some timeless points of music history: those moments when the blues shared a berth with early rock 'n' roll and soul-shaping Southern R&B. The "Night Train to Nashville" exhibit at the Country Music Hall of Fame, however engaging, can't match the experience of hearing directly from the source: those who were born and raised in this milieu and went on to work with the major players from Stax, Motown, Chess and other burgeoning labels of the time. Indeed, it was bassist Johnny Terrell, then known as "Guitar" Terrell, who gave the novice Jimi Hendrix the nickname "Marbles" for his overplaying when they both were members of William Potter's group, The Continentals.

Guitarist and vocalist Phil Earhart is the guiding force of the Bluesmen, having written all but one of the songs on the current CD, an up-tempo rendition of "A Rainy Night in Georgia," punctuated by a tough fading riff. Like any well-done soul-blues album, the songs include cautionary tales of jealousy and betrayal, confessions of unrequited love, bawdy humor mixed with braggadocio and a romantic burner that's in the mode of vintage Lou Rawls ("All Night Romance"). But the most original touches come in the title track, which delivers the wise elders' searing take on inner-city blight and, alternatively, in "Sweet Homeland of the Blues," an autobiographical country-soul blues that reclaims the North Nashville community's musical birthright in such moments as Earhart's first visits to Ernie's Record Mart. The Jefferson Street Bluesmen play Bluesboro in Nashville this Friday, Aug. 13.

—Bill Levine