California blues-rock quartet
Rival Sons
bemoan the lack of danger in today's rock & roll generation on their Facebook page, a slightly hypocritical viewpoint considering that their third studio album,
Head Down
, could have been recorded at any point over the last 40 years. However, their cliched soundbites aside, there's much to enjoy on this typically ballsy and no-nonsense follow-up to 2011 breakthrough
Pressure & Time
.
Led Zeppelin
fans disappointed by their recent denials of a reunion could do worse than check out the blistering opener "Keep on Swinging" and raucous "You Want To" to get their fix of
Page
-inspired classic rock riffs and
Plant-esque
wails. Their proggy tendencies also come to fruition on the sprawling "Manifest Destiny," a psychedelic two-part suite about the slaughter of Native Americans containing an epic four-minute solo from
Scott Holiday
. But with Grammy-nominated producer
Dave Cobb
(
Shooter Jennings
) at the helm, their trademark swagger is now matched by a sense of adventure. "Wild Animal" sees frontman
Jay Buchanan
tone down his force-of-nature tones on a surprisingly chirpy slice of '60s West Coast pop, likewise on the hushed balladry of "Jordan," a vulnerable reflection on death that eventually builds up into a soaring "With a Little Help from My Friends" finale. "All the Way," a cheeky spoken-sung tale about a man's whiskey-based exploits, is backed by an infectious
Motown
groove, while there's even a
Tim Buckley-ish
acoustic folk ballad with the falsetto-led closer "True." Despite the band's "things ain't what they used to be" claims,
is about as edgy as
Status Quo
("Until the Sun Comes" could actually be mistaken for
Francis Rossi
and company's three-chord rock). But nevertheless, it's a record that proves
do what they do very well. ~ Jon O'Brien