Mitch Grainger calls his two new releases, Plug It In and Plug It In Acoustic, a double album, but they’re more like musical conjoined twins separated at birth. One is electric, featuring Grainger and his band, while the other is stripped down to vocals, harp, and acoustic guitar. Both albums share the same track listings but explore different paths on the blues-roots highway.

Plug It In is firmly rooted in blues traditions but stretches to everything from swampy, garage rock to hard driving rootsy americana, while Plug It In Acoustic offers a more traditional, though equally engaging, approach that echoes inspirations from the Delta and Hill Country. A true credit to his strength as a songwriter and arranger, though the track listings are the same, the two versions of each song could not be more different.

“I thought it would be fun for each single to have an acoustic version to accompany the electric version and I enjoyed that so much, and the reaction was so great, that in March (2023) I decided to record an acoustic version for all of the songs on the album and turn it into a companion release”

With Plug It In and Plug It In Acoustic, Grainger has done something rarely seen in any genre: simultaneously release thoroughly different versions of the same material, each equally strong and capable of standing on its own while being a perfect counterpart and complement to its mate.