She’s got the rough n’ tumble swagger of the Rolling Stones, the earnestness of Bonnie Raitt, and the party-hearty sass of a Shelby Lynne or Gretchen Wilson. With nearly 20 years of recording under her belt, Atlanta blues rocker “Moanin’” Michelle Malone continues to call her own tune and remain true to herself. On her latest indie release Sugarfoot, she sounds as good (and wickedly baaaad) as she ever has. 

Malone has always been a southern rock gal at her core. No less an authority than pop diva industrialist. Clive Davis tried to change her and failed. After soaking in the Sugarfoot set, you can understand why: she’s got tremendous vocal range, foot-stompin’ steady lyrics, and she exudes a thoughtful sexiness. That’s something a lot of ladies have tried (Amanda Marshall comes to mind) but often can’t pull off. 

While not a departure from her last effort Stompin' Ground, this new release is a bit coarser. Malone goes for a whiskey-soaked Janis vibe with “Tighten Up the Springs,” the breathy “Soul Chicken” and “Miss Miss’ippi,” summoning the darker edges of the delta blues and honkytonk with every tasty line. And the highlights “Traveling and Unraveling” and “Black Motorcycle Boots” go straight for the road house rollicking good time, showing off her guitar prowess. 

The latter-mentioned tune fires on all cylinders, scorning a former lover with a line that is pure bar-rock poetry: “You're like my favorite T-shirt with holes.” It's such a standout, that it makes a couple of Sugarfoot's "less-than" moments even more ponderous. “Down” comes off like a Sheryl Crow throwaway, right down to the drawn-out vowel drawl; “Where is the Love” could easily be a Marshall b-side. Both seem like forced and mushy missteps.

Probably not the singles I would have picked, but I digress. Clive might have.