Philadelphia’s John the Conqueror play the blues with a toughness that anyone who grew up with Johnny Winter albums would appreciate. Singer/guitarist Pierre Moore retains a nasty stinging tone throughout, accentuating his sparse rhythm playing with an active lead hand that turns the songs into showcases for his sterling guitar powers. “You Don’t Know” has traces of Caribbean rhythms lurking under the madness, but Moore’s manic guitar runs turn the tune into a vicious axe-fight with himself. Drummer Michael Gardner and bassist Ryan Lynn can turn a rhythm inside out, and often do. However, it’s the addition of keyboardist Steve Lynn on a tune like “John Doe” that gives the group enough room to roam and increase the textures. The cover of Randy Newman’s “Let’s Burn Down the Cornfield” provides the band with a song that isn’t a jumping point for a guitar solo. But largely, these are party anthems played at a comforting pace. “Mississippi Drinkin’” soothes while Moore runs his guitar off like the loudmouth it is.