Matt Walsh plays the Chicago blues of Howlin' Wolf and Muddy Waters. His vocals fall somewhere between a gritty shout and a lethargic drawl. When he runs out of words, he wipes a little rockabilly dust off his slide guitar strings, making music designed for dusty bars and hard times. Though he grew up in North Carolina, Walsh moved to Kansas and developed his chops in the Midwest. While there, he met Bob Margolin, the Tar Heel blues guitarist and Muddy Waters sideman. Walsh has since moved back to his home state, where Margolin produced his latest album. His songs brim with a humid, dangerous heat. —Andrew Ritchey