From the second the title track kicks in, it is the sound of the same sun-dappled, country-tinged rock that always sounds so good, that you wonder where people have been.
The answer – in the case of Big Head Todd at least – is just about everywhere.
They are a platinum-selling Colorado quartet who have been together for an astounding 38 years, were inducted into the Colorado Music Hall Of Fame – Class of 2023. In which case, sorry Big Head.
Because, how a band with all the effortless cool of Georgia Satellites, as they display on “Thunderbird” has passed me by is anyone’s guess.
And it just keeps coming. Whether you like relaxed grooves like “Crush” – full of soulful blues from Todd Park Mohr, the more energetic “Don’t Kill Me Tonight” which moves itself into Garage Rock tinged territory, or the beauty that is “Full Moon Tonight”, there is a lot of texture here. Lots of colours, and lots of shade to explore.
All of it – right down to the AC/DC-esque riffing of “My New Number One”, is underpinned by superb guitar, but more than that, it’s the keys of multi-instrumentalist Jeremy Lawton that so inform things.
“Into The Light” takes a walk down some of the roads inhabited by Tom Petty and the likes, and “Twice As Bright” is one of those songs that could have appeared in any era and sounded like it belonged.
It’s that old thing about when you fit in nowhere you can fit in everywhere, and there’s a lot of that here. When it all comes together, as it does so often, but particularly on the gorgeous “Twice As Bright”, this is special.
Brian Nevin’s drums are right to the fore on the funky, “King Kong” – as if every one of The Monsters was given a time in the spotlight.
“Rainbow Girl” comes in on the back of a chunky riff to end it, but that it talks about a free spirit is kind of apt, given that “Her Way Out” goes where it wants, picking up things as it goes.
It is a gem. And whether, like me, you are hearing them for the first time, or are a fan of long-standing almost doesn’t matter. Just don’t miss out on this.
Rating 8.5/10
