I’ve been a pretty big fan of this band since discovering them off their first album a few years ago now. The band’s unique blend of southern rock and Americana/folk had me hooked immediately. And since interview them a couple of times and seeing them live, we’ve gotten pretty friendly and I’ve only become a bigger fan. I’ve been rather impatiently waiting for this album to drop since the singles started coming out months ago, so now that it’s finally here I can’t wait to finally dive in!
Opener ‘Rotten Apples’ has almost a punk beat and feel to it behind the southern rock guitaring. The slide guitaring throughout is amazing. Dave’s voice comes in over the top of the bluesy verse, fitting in perfectly. It also builds to a massively catchy chorus, one that sounds like it’d be a lot of fun live! We also get an amazing guitar solo tucked in the middle of a real cool bridge part. It’s a simple song in terms of structure, but is a lot of fun and crafted perfectly. And it sets the tone for the album excellently!
The riff for ‘S.O.S.’ is heavy and fantastic, the track having a real driving energy to it. It’s also again catchy vocally, throughout this time too, the verse and pre feeling just as sing-a-longy as the chorus! The lyrics in this are pretty fantastic too, a lot of fun and very well put together. It’s a very 70s/80s hard rock style track with a Southern edge still, that then takes a surprising, abrupt but shockingly fitting turn to Iron Maiden with its bridge. The band are no stranger to wearing their inspirations on their sleeves but blending them perfectly and still making it all feel very Outlaw Orchestra. This is another excellent track and one that makes it onto our playlist!
‘Fear the Bite’ slows things down into spooky banjo time territory, another sound the band pull off amazingly. Dave’s raspier, whispered vocals are incredible over the top of the simple percussion and banjo riff. I also love that it stays at the same steady, low dark-folk level throughout. I imagine the temptation was there to build it up into a stomping rock song, but I love this sort of style and a full track of it from them was amazing. It also still works perfectly in the context of the album and the band, and breaks up the release with something completely different early on. The band are so far three for three on awesome songs!
Then you have ‘El Dorado’ that is arguably the previous song with the rock elements like I mentioned and damn, it’s incredible! I love the distorted guitar over the quick, amazing banjo playing from Pete. And the riffing all round is incredible, just like the vocals are. I love it slowing down in the middle too, the guitar replicating the banjo riffing, almost turning the track metal for a moment. The dynamics of the track are incredible, it taking multiple twists and turns throughout, keeping the listener constantly on their toes. It’s another amazing track, and another easily playlisted song!
We’re very familiar with ‘Holy Ground’ here. I feel like I gushed over it enough in that reaction video, but months on I still LOVE this track. It’s a dark, plodding Western-blues track that is once again something rather different to the rest of the album, but still is distinctly Outlaw. I adore the lyrics throughout the song too, being maybe my favourite on the album. And those heavy bridge riffs and southern rock solo… *chef’s kiss*. Fans of the band will have enjoyed the hell out of the song for months already, just like me, but for new listeners or anyone who hasn’t heard this yet, I can’t recommend it enough. It showcases the bands talent for songwriting perfectly, and is packed full of excellent moments.
‘Small Change’ is a quick, steady-paced blues-rock pallet cleanser, and is an infectiously fun track. It’s completely different to the last few tracks but picks up the energy perfectly. It’s another track that sounds like it would be amazing live, too. At sub-two-minutes it’s the perfect short slightly sleazy southern rock track at this point in the album!
‘Sunday Drivers’ slows back down the pace again into a plodding, subdued blues track, and I love it! It fits the name of the track perfectly, and has some absolutely incredible guitar playing throughout. There are brief glimpses of distorted, heavier guitars in the chorus, but they are fleeting (in the best way). It also perfectly fits the name of the track, it being a truly excellent choice. It’s a chilled-out track that almost begs to be played in a smoky dive bar somewhere. As a massive blues rock guy, I absolutely loved this.
Lead single of the album ‘Bag of Bones’ is amazing, and really draws together every sound they have showcase over the album into one epic sound. There’s some awesome riffing and guitaring, some awesome lyrics and some damn catchy vocal melodies throughout. It has a chilled-out feel but is still distinctly rocky, even in a late 90s/early 2000s pop rock or grunge way. Honestly, it’s the same feeling that ‘Graceless Time’ has, though that track also includes a healthy dose of incredible gospel to the proceedings with the massive backing vocals, making the chorus sound huge and incredibly catchy. Yet again it’s two more amazing tracks!
Single ‘Born to Be a Thief’ is another we are rather familiar with. It’s yet another fantastic change of pace; a darker, foot-stomping, folk/Americana-drenched rock track. I’ve spun this a lot since it was first released, and it fits so well within the album that I’ve listened to it a bunch more since. Everyone works their asses off through the track, the drums, banjo and guitaring all being highlights of the track. It’s been on our playlist for months at this point, and is a huge high point of the album!
The closing track, ‘Outlaw’, is straight up rock in all the best ways. I love that in a time where most bands slow things down for the final track, TOO instead play the biggest, highest energy track they have on the album. It’s somehow the perfect blend of 70s/80s Southern rock and that again more 90s pop/almost indie rock sound. That chorus is amazing, as is the heavy blues middle part and the excellent solo over the top of it. It’s a cracking, high-energy way to close out the album that once again draws together a lot of the elements that we’d heard prior perfectly. And it’s yet another huge highlight of an album packed full of them!
Overall: This was an incredibly fun, amazing listen. I wasn’t expecting to talk about almost every song in so much depth, but the band constantly changed things up and did something new throughout that was impossible not to touch on. There was never a dull moment, and all three members are so incredibly talented for crafting something so unique and with clear passion and heart too. They put their all into this release while still sounding like they had a blast, and it in turn makes the listener have a lot of fun too! There are very few, if any, like The Outlaw Orchestra these days, and with another incredibly solid release like this, they are very much at the top of the pack in their style!
The Score: 9/10