Another big week of New Music Mondays, featuring everything from great thrash to awesome country! Let’s dive in!
George Strait: Cowboys and Dreamers
The country legend is having one hell of a year. Not only did he break the record for the largest ticketed gig in history with a staggering 110k+ people in attendance, but he put out his first album in half a decade, and whopping 30th overall. And, what’s more, is he still very much has it; this is a great album! Songs like the title track, ‘MIA Down in MIA’ and the Chris Stapleton-featuring ‘Honky Tonk Hall of Fame’ are all awesome and big highlights. However, there isn’t a bad song on it! It’s traditional country at its very best; whether it’s slower and more emotional, or funner, upbeat tracks! He has no right being as good as he is still in his 70s and after so many previous releases, but it’s a real testament to just how fantastically talented the man is. It’s hard to come up with words to talk about the album, as if you are familiar with George or the era of country he comes from, you’ll know exactly what to expect heading into this. It’s a damn good old-school country album from a true legend of the music industry. 7.5/10
Boston Manor: Sundiver
The Blackpool-based emo-pop-punk-rock band are back with album #5. I have to admit, while I’ve heard the name everywhere for a while, I’m really not that familiar with the band. Listening to this album, I see why I accidently avoided them. They’re a touch boring. Don’t get me wrong, they’re certainly not bad, and I know this sort of sound has such a massive fanbase. However, I just feel like others, be it YMA6 or Trash Boat, all kinda do the style better. There are some great elements throughout the album, be it awesome riffs or some good screams or great drumming, but none of it quite tickles that special part of my brain to get me excited to listen to it again.
It was perfectly fine driving music for me and the Mrs over the weekend, but I can’t imagine myself seeking this out to listen to it again. Having said that, ‘Sliding Doors’ was a bit of a banger. It’s certainly not bad, and I completely get the YMA6-meets-Deaftones appeal, but it isn’t for me. 5.5/10, sorry lads.
Dead Daisies: Light ‘Em Up
The classic rock supergroup have again changed lineups before this album cycle, Glenn Hughes having left and David Lowy bring back fan-favourite vocalist John Corabi back unto the fold. That alone had me excited, as although I didn’t mind their last album, I always much preferred the Corabi era.
Speaking of Corabi, he sound on top form still on this album, being a real charisma-filled high point. However, the rest of the band are far from slouching. Daisies mainstay Dough Aldrich kills his lead guitar duties throughout, while the riffing from him, Lowy and Michael Devin is consistently great. And, of course, Tommy Clufetos holds down everyone perfectly on the drums.
Songs like ‘Times are Changing’, ‘My Way and the Highway’ and the already-familiar ‘I’m Gonna Ride’ are all awesome and big highlights of the album. I have to admit, a couple of the songs did sound a bit tired, more like hangover from Burn it Down than something new. But overall, it’s a solid album that flows well and the 37-minutes goes by in a flash. If you like old-school sleaze and hard rock, check this out, you’ll definitely love it like I did. It’s an easy 7.5/10
Jackson Dean: On the Back of my Dreams
The country newcomer blew everyone away with his debut back in 2022, showing that he had an immensely bright future ahead of him. So, there was plenty of pressure heaped onto this release, to put it lightly. However, this album certainly lives up to that hype, and then some!
This is dark, folk-infused country music at its very best; 45+ minutes of awesomeness. And there are plenty of different styles, a fair amount of different sounds to keep me interested throughout. While it is mainly rooted in country, I got a surprising amount of Newton Faulkner vibes from it, which I certainly was not complaining about. And then you have the almost Ganstagrass beats of ‘Long Goodbye’ which I was not expecting at all but also loved. Tracks like that, ‘Daddy Raised’, ‘Duct Tape Heart’ and ‘Jane’ are all huge highlights, but there really isn’t a bad track on the album! If you’re a country, folk or Americana fan, this album is certainly for you, and I can’t recommend it enough! Jackson is going to continue to grow from this release, and is very much the future of the genre! 8.5/10
Black Lakes: Dead Gods
The NWOCR mainstays return with their highly anticipated sophomore album. We loved their debut, and have been following them closely in the lead-up to this release. It doesn’t disappoint in the slightest, either. Their melodic metal style is back in full force, giving early 2000s vibes in the best ways, yet moderned up for a more rock-leaning crowd. The riffs are ch0nky throughout and Will Preston demonstrates his impressive vocal range through beautiful melodies and some pretty great screams. Plus, the atmosphere created throughout the album is incredible. I once again feel myself drawn to Linkin Park comparisons, but really any band around that time doing that sound is what Black Lakes (or at least their producer) has taken clear inspiration from.
While every track is amazing, personal highlights include the likes of single ‘Hurricane’, ‘Dark Glass’ and the LP-like, epic title track. This is 37-minutes of melodic rock awesomeness, and I cannot recommend it enough to anyone even vaguely into the genre. How I haven’t seen these guys live yet is beyond me, but next year better be the year! I have to hear this stuff live! It’s an easy 9/10
Solitary: Embrace the Darkness
Fuck man, this album has one of the hardest opening riffs of any release this year. The intro into the title track goes HARD. Honestly though, the whole 31-minutes of this UK thrash band is incredible. I’ve been a fan for years at this point and, the more I listen, the higher this ranks in my favourite albums from them. It’s honestly impossible impossible pick any highlight tracks too, as every song is amazing and the whole album has such an incredible flow through it; it went by in a flash. Every single member of the band is insanely talented, and they’ve written a true thrash masterpiece here. It very well might be the band’s magnum opus. I cannot recommend this album any more to fans of thrash or metal in general. I cannot give this any less than 9.5/10, that was awesome.
Corey Kent: Black Bandana
This took me a bit of getting into, but when I did I found myself really enjoying it. Corey has an absolutely fantastic voice, and plays a very modern style of country (think Redferrin) which apparently I have a vaguely short bandwidth for in terms of listening capacity. The opening track is good, reminding me of Stapleton’s ‘White Horse’ in a lot of ways, but it wasn’t until the beautiful single ‘Never Ready’ that I truly started getting into the album. It’s an amazing song that kicked off a run of excellent tracks that lasted most of the rest of the album, through to ‘This Heart’. ‘Break Like That’ is also a fantastic, slightly rockier number and ‘Rust’ may be my favourite track on the album.
Don’t get me wrong, a lot of this album is very modern pop-country, slower and simpler, and there are certainly some cliche lyrics across the 10 tracks. However, there is a lot to love here, and enough variety to keep me entertained through it’s surprisingly short runtime. It’s not gonna end up being my favourite country album of the year, but it’s a damn good release and shows that, just a few years into his releases (but already five albums in), Corey is on track to be a massive name in the country scene. It’s an easy 8/10 from me!
David Gilmour: Luck and Strange
The Pink Floyd legend is back with his fifth solo record, and first in nine years. It’s exactly what you’d expect from him and… well…. eh. I was never really a fan of Floyd in the first place, but I could at least appreciate their talent, appeal and influence. However, nearly six decades after the first Floyd album, it’s the same shit over and over again still, and my god did I get bored. This will certainly have fans, but I am not one of them. I have nothing else to say about it; check it out if you’re curious but if I say more it’ll just come across as mean. 3/10
Fate’s Hollow: The Heir Apparition Part 1: Broken Crowns
We’ve already checked out this awesome album! Check out our review of it here.
The Cold Stares: The Southern
The American blues duo-turned-trio put out their seventh studio album last Friday. They’re another band that I’d seen their name around and knew a song or two, but had never, for whatever reason, given them more of a chance than that until today. I was missing out too, as this album is fantastic. It’s like Thin Lizzy but with a touch of southern rock and Americana mixed in for good measure. Tracks like ‘Coming Home’, ‘Blow winds Blow’ and ‘Seven Ways to Sundown’ are all massive highlights on an album packed full of them. At a time where old-school rock revival bands are all over the place, there are few that do it as well as The Cold Stares do. The band have a massive new fan in me and I’mma be spinning this album a lot in the weeks and months to come. 8.5/10, loved it!