Been called the new Southern rock stars, the Kentucky friends traveled a lot of miles since then. With a new bassist and after battling addictions and problems, they return with a new album doing what they like the most, playing blues based, hard rock music.Their sound is totally recognizable, the muddy riffing that reminds me of NICKELBACK along the distinctive vocals of Robertson and the massive guitar attacks is the household trademark and they invest at it from the opener "Screaming in the sky", a fast paced rocker. BSC doesn't want to be popular or trendy.
They like to be the same band that was jammin in the warehouse a decade ago and they show this at every given chance. But they have an ease in writing catchy brides and chorus as in "Nervous" and they can do nothing about it. A great song with changes between the massive riffing and the semi acoustic and an addictive chorus, with contemporary Rock radio massive sound."Show me what it is" continues the trajectory upwards but is "R.O.A.R" a great melodic hard rock anthem that delivers everything, an addictive melody, tight rhythm section, great vocal lines and a melody that screams to be sung in arenas by thousands, an instant hit, that NICKELBACK would die to have written with a mature and full of sensibility and 70s wah wah solo by Wells. "Smile world" is the BSC we all love, SKYNYRD meets NICKELBACK, Southern groovy hard rock with Arena rock aiming chorus , ready to make you shake your booty with its groove."The mess you made" is a fine example of songwriting craftsmanship with a rhythmic pattern that is stuck in your mind and an unbeatable chorus, the song where the drummer John Young gets the headlights on. "Who are you today" is another crowd pleaser with its heavy verses, the sing a long chorus and the heavy riff/soloing over the cement block drumming, a well crafted modern rock anthem with the unmistakable acoustic break in the middle."Not afraid" is a mode modern melodic rock anthem again focusing on a distinguish chorus. The moment for the mid tempo heartaching , sensitive revelation comes at "Here's to the hopeless" where the echoes of the grunge generation bands ballads like STAIND and LIMP BIZKIT is profound but BSC have their own unique sound."You can have it all" closes the album with another signatory song by BCS, massive riffing, sing along choruses and a soft spot for easy to remind melodies with the mandatory breaks in the middle of the song.
BSC are nowadays a household name, not anymore in the Southern rock scene but in the modern Arena rock scene, blending Southern rock, Blues rock and Hard rock along with a great feeling for FM melodies. Their sound remains massive, solid and catchy at the same time with distinctive vocals and excellent guitar work. If you are a fan of the band you llo love their new work as they have some more than memorable tunes. If you are new to the band's catalogue,this is a great album to enter the BSC realm.
7.5