Since coming together during their final year at Boone, North Carolina’s Appalachian State University in 2004, rising Americana quartet Possum Jenkins has toiled and triumphed in bars, clubs and at festivals across their home state, as well as venturing into South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia. A sonic Southern recipe of simple but effective melodies married to boundless, off-the-rails energy finds the tight-knit group zeroing in on a sound that seamlessly incorporates strains of the timeless mountain music of Appalachia, the compelling alt. country of East Nashville and Austin, a touch funky Memphis soul and a helping of unabashed Southern rock.

It’s not hard to see why Possum Jenkins is just as comfortable sharing stages with outlaw country legend Billy Joe Shaver as they are with blues rockers the North Mississippi Allstars. Fans of Shaver’s raw, heartfelt country as well as those of the Allstars’ brand of hill country boogie have both identified with the hard-driving and passionate Americana of Possum Jenkins that finds common ground in both traditions.

On Collection Of Bad Habits, the third independent studio release by Possum Jenkins, the Winston-Salem and Boone, NC-based quintet matches their strongest batch of original material with equally compelling production courtesy of Doug Williams (Avett Brothers, Mad Tea Party) of Electro Magnetic Radiation Recorders and former Emma Gibbs Band guitarist and vocalist Richard Upchurch.

In addition to solid playing throughout by the band, guest turns by Will Straughn (Emma Gibbs Band, Shannon Whitworth) and longtime collaborator Aaron Burleson on keyboards add depth to the band’s self-described blend of “Carolinacana.” Swapping instruments throughout and sharing songwriting and lead vocal duties, Possum Jenkins’ driving, country-tinged rockers mesh perfectly with soulful acoustic fare, delivering the band’s most mature and fully realized album to date.