Have you ever had one of those singer-songwriters or bands that you have loved to death for years but it seems that no one else has ever heard of them? Paul Burch is that kind of artist for me. Toiling away for over a decade now, the only bit of notoriety that Burch has ever carved out for himself is that he is a sometimes touring guitarist for the Indie/Alt-Country act Lambchop. Besides that, all he's done is crafted six brilliant solo records over the last decade. Still Your Man is his seventh and best record to date and if you haven't taken notice of him yet, this is the perfect album to get yourself introduced to him.

Like the James Hunter and Jamie Lidell records of last year, Burch is best when he is conjuring up styles of music that are long since gone in popularity. "Little Bells" is a brilliant duet with Kelly Hogan (of Neko Case's band) that stirs up the ghost of Elvis Presley, while "Honey Blue" is reminiscent of the Elvis song "All Shook Up." Not all of Still Your Man sounds primarily like Elvis though. The title track's Bluegrass style sounds like Ralph Stanley through and through and Burch's take on the Little Walter Blues classic "It Ain't Right" is perfectly crafted here. My favorite of the bunch though, "Down to the Blackmarket," wouldn't be out of place on any Paul McCartney solo album. Burch has always been great, but Still Your Man is the greatest piece of work he's ever produced. Definitely one of the strongest albums of 2009 to be sure.