By Chris Kula

Daily Arts Editor

Delta blues is original indie rock - you don't get much more lo-fi than an old black man strumming a single chord on a ratty acoustic guitar.

It should come as little surprise, then, to find 73-year old bluesman R.L. Burnside recording for a subsidiary of Epitaph, the uber-hip indie label. The surprise comes in the sheer potency of Burnside's soul-bearing vocals on Wish I Was in Heaven Sitting Down.

The 11-song album features the time-worn voice of Burnside, who, after toiling in Mississippi juke joints for most of his life, has recently been embraced by the young, white audiences of indie-pop artists like Jon Spencer and Moby, placed against modern production methods.

Gutbucket guitars mix with synthesized drum tracks, and old school blues stomps are saturated with turntable scratching (including a guest spot by Beck's DJ Swamp).

But the constant is Burnside's gritty vocal style, ranging from playful on the upbeat "Too Many Ups" to downright morose on the album's final track, "R.L. Story's," a haunting spoken word tune in which Burnside recounts the Chicago deaths of two uncles, two brothers and his father - that's true emo for you.

Grade: B+