They say the blues is as much an attitude as it is a music. In the acoustic songcraft of Pistol Pete Wearn, the raw holler of the blues is given an English inflection, as if RL Burnside has returned to us with the express intention of ripping up the shires. On Wearn's new album, Service Station Coffee, the well-travelled troubador documents his rip-roaring live shows - and also further develops his raw style, cooking up a complex, moreish gumbo. Armed with an acoustic guitar, a stompbox and occasionally a harmonica, Pistol Pete rips through both witty originals and homages to his blues heritage: his version of 'Make Me Down A Pallet On The Floor' reimagines Mississippi John Hurt's standard as a cavernous, bitter singalong; when he cuts into 'Great Balls of Fire' live, meanwhile, few pint glasses are left upright

• Blues
• Roots