The North Mississippi Allstars is one of the most courageous blues bands in history. During the band's career, it (along with fellow hardy souls like R.L. Burnside and Chris Thomas King) bravely fused hip hop with Fred McDowell, earning venomous barbs from blues purists in the process. Then it journeyed through a trippy, almost psychedelic phase, with decidedly varying results. But with "Hernando" - a CD named after the band's hilly north Mizzip hometown - NMAS has returned to its gritty, funky roots, churning out an album that jumps from introspective ballad to gut-bucket rave-up seemingly without effort. Brothers Luther (guitar) and Cody (drums) Dickinson and childhood friend Chris Chew (bass) remain one of the shining lights of modern blues, musicians who respect the history but fearlessly face the future.