60-Second Critic: Lemonade

Lemonade
G. Love
(Brushfire Records)

Center City-born and raised, a lawyer’s son and a South Street corner rat, Garrett “G. Love” Dutton III has always shrugged off labels — he’s blues with a sly smile instead of a frown, hip-hop without an attitude, and a folksy

Lemonade
G. Love
(Brushfire Records)

Center City-born and raised, a lawyer’s son and a South Street corner rat, Garrett “G. Love” Dutton III has always shrugged off labels — he’s blues with a sly smile instead of a frown, hip-hop without an attitude, and a folksy soulman, all at once. For G., this album’s title is aspirational, since when he’s at his finest, the result is best classified as a soundtrack for a backyard cookout or swilling frosty ones on the Shore house deck. Laid-way-back songs like “Free” and “Ride,” with its breezy, top-down groove, are thick with a summertime vibe, and Dutton’s rhyming keeps the party flowing smoothly. Some experiments, like “Banger,” are a messy mix of flavors that never quite coalesce, but when G. takes a backseat to guest vocalist Ben Harper on “Let The Music Play,” or flirts with the angelic Tristan Prettyman on “Beautiful,” he’s doing what he does best. Grade: A-