Another stacked week of plenty of awesome release. Let’s waste no time and dive right in!

Luke Combs: Father & Sons

One of country’s biggest stars somewhat surprise released this album last week, announcing it just a week before. I’ve seen a lot of love for this album already, and me being someone who wasn’t a massive fan of his last release, I’m curious to see if I’ll feel the same!

It’s a beautifully sentimental album clearly dedicated to his sons. The emotion is rife throughout the release, and is truly beautiful across a lot of moments. Songs like the opener, ‘Little Country Boys’ and ‘Remember Him that Way’ are amazing, and real highlights of the album as they get the emotion and point across perfectly. However, every song is pretty great and share the same sentiments. As a tribute to his sons, it’s the perfect album.

But fuck is it slow again. Don’t get me wrong, I think the slower pace complimented the lyrics and emotion of the album, but I always preferred the more upbeat stuff Combs puts out like ‘Beer Never Broke my Heart’ or ‘Any Given Friday Night’. This is two albums in a row now that have ALL been slow songs. And, while they are fantastic, they start to get old before the end of the album. Maybe this is the direction Luke is going in these days, and it’s clearly paying off for him. But if that’s the case, I feel like I’mma struggle to listen to full albums by him in the future. But still, I did enjoy this album more than the last, more due to the concept than anything. So it gets a solid 7.5/10 from me!

Fu Manchu: The Return of Tomorrow

This had a lot more of a punky edge thank I was expecting from a stoner rock band. Don’t get me wrong, the fuzzy riffing is still a massive focus of the Orange County bands 13th studio album, but there is a lot more to it than that. As an album as a whole, it’s great and one hell of a fun listen. It seems rare they come to the UK so I wasn’t familiar with them aside for a couple of songs, so hearing a whole album from front to back of theirs was awesome and definitely solidified me as a fan. Songs like ‘Loch Ness Wrecking Machine’, ‘Hands of the Zodiac’ and ‘(Time is) Pulling you Under’ are all massive highlights, but there really isn’t a bad song on the album. It may be a touch long at 13-tracks and 50 minutes, but that’s more just me not connecting hugely with stoner rock more than anything. If you’re a huge fan of the genre, you’ll love this. Given that this is the longest gap between releases, they clearly used their time wisely, and have put out a damn solid album! 8/10

Hockey Dad: Rebuild Repeat

This is a damn fun listen of an album. The Australian surf rock band have put out half an hour of just a really good time, and I’m all for it. It’s not typically the sort of stuff I’d listen to on its own, but as an album as a whole it’s a fantastic, chilled-out listen. I had it on on a drive and it was the perfect road-trip music. There isn’t a specific highlight, but the album as a whole is a major high, in more ways than one! If you are into this sort of thing you’ll love it, and I’ll certainly be jamming it again at least a few more times in the coming months! 7.5/10

Sun Descends Alone: Of Everlasting Cravings

We’ve already checked out this awesome album! Find the review here.

Gangstagrass: The Blackest Thing on the Menu

This is a really interesting release. I’ve been a big fan of Ganstagrass the last couple of years; their unique, fun blend of country and hip-hop was fantastic. This album feels like it marks a shift in their sound, somewhat. Sure, there are tracks like ‘Obligatory Braggadocio’ and ‘The Only Way Out is Through’ that still have plenty of country elements to them. However, a lot the tracks lean heavier on the hip-hop and R&B elements of their sound, sometimes with the only thing adding any country elements being the banjo shining through occasionally.

Having said that, I LOVED this album. ‘Good at Being Bad’ is an old-school R&B classic, while ‘Up High Do or Die’ is a Public Enemy/Wu-Tang 90s hip-hop banger. And that fiddle through the verses of the latter track, *chef’s kiss*. It almost gives it a folk/pirate-y feel. It’s a really well put-together album too; nearly 40 minutes goes by in a flash. I’ve listened to it a few times already (including our reaction video, link here when it’s out) and it’s only growing on me more and more. There isn’t a bad track on the album, even ‘Mother’ is growing on me, especially with the lyrical content.

So, while yes, I am slightly sad we didn’t get more country on this album, it’s so good that I can hardly complain. I’m curious to hear what other fans of the band think of it. It’s still a hugely unique, creative and fun listen, regardless of what style it is. For now, it gets an easy 9/10 from me.

Shotgun Mistress: Kings of the Revolution

The Australian hard rock band put out their sophomore album last Friday. Good is an understatement, too. From the incredible riffing to the thrashing pace throughout to the impressive, powerful vocals and catchy hooks, it has everything you could ever want in a rock album. They give off vibes of Massive (obviously), Wicked Smile and Shotgun Revolution, a band who I confused them for when they first came into my emails. It’s so hard to pick highlight tracks, be it recent single ‘Sweet Woman’, through ‘Mary Jane’ to the awesome closer, it’s 43-minutes of sleazy, foot-stomping goodness. Every member of the band is massively talented and have created something pretty special with this release. It feels somehow classic and modern at the same time, something hard to do with this style. The band have a massive new fan in me, and I’mma be listening to this for months to come! 9/10

The Early November: Self-Titled

The New Jerseyan pop-punk/alt rock band are back with their seventh album, and it’s another fantastic release. The band have been on my radar for years, given that I was a big fan of this sort of music in my teens. Still, this is still the first full album by the band I’ve listened to. They certainly didn’t disappoint. Right from the opener, to tracks like ‘About Me’ and ‘The Fool’, there is plenty to love on a full listen. I get the emo classification too, it’s certainly more serious than most pop-punk is, so fits quite well into the emo brand. If you’re into any of the genres I’ve listed, or bands like Miss I May or even Gasslight Anthem, this is very much an album for you! I’ll certainly be listening to it a fair bit moving forward, and the band have a bigger fan in me after this release. It’s an easy 8/10 from me!

Black Country Communion: V

The insane-lineuped supergroup are back with, you guessed it, their fifth album. The hard/classic rock four peice prove once again that they work perfectly together to craft music that feels unique, yet also an amalgamation of, their individual sounds. Glenn Hughes’ vocals and style work perfectly with the blues rock sound, a lot better than his tenure in Dead Daises. Then you have Bonamassa, Bonham, and Sheriniand, who once again prove that they can work with anyone and play/write multiple different styles. Tracks like ‘Stay Free’, ‘Restless’ and ‘Too Far Gone’ were personal highlights, but every song is certainly an enjoyable listen. It’s an old-school song that certainly isn’t for everyone, but it’s well worth checking out, as it’s a damn good release. 8/10