Athens Of The North (Bobby Boyd, Infinity) reissue an extra-rare 1984 joint from the Texan singer-songwriter Willie Griffin. ‘I Love You’ and ‘Where There’s Smoke There’s Fire’ are both unusual ballads that are shot through with the blues. The former is a wistful fog that sits at the mid-point between Gil Scott-Heron, Bill Withers and Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy - an unusual combo, for sure, but the appropriate one. Meanwhile ‘Where There’s Smoke There’s Fire’ is a breathy blues stomp that is set apart by the weird droning dirge that sits at the bottom of the mix. There’s some leftfield, innovative songwriting on display here.