Early next month, L.A. Guns will release its latest album, Leopard Skin. The 10-song record, which is due for release Apr. 4 through independent label Cleopatra Records, has already produced two singles, each of which have done plenty to prove the record a promising new offering from the veteran rock act. Those singles – which are also the album’s lead and second songs — are only a small example of what the album has to offer. ‘Runaway Train,’ which comes much later in the record’s 39-minute run time, is another strong example of how much the record has to offer audiences. ‘If You Wanna,’ the record’s closer, is another example of that appeal. ‘Hit and Run,’ which appears in the record’s first half, is yet one more example of the record’s strength. All three of these songs serve to support Leopard Skin in their own right. When they are considered alongside the album’s two current singles and that whole with the remainder of the record, the whole makes Leopard Skin one more welcome addition to this year’s field of new rock albums.
Leopard Skin, the latest album from L.A. Guns (the 15th from the Tracii Guns/Phil Lewis lineup) is a strong new offering from the band. The now defunct Steve Riley lineup no longer exists and released only two albums during its short time together. The 10-song record has already proven its strength through the very first two songs in its nearly 40-minute run time. They are just a sample of what the band’s new record has to offer audiences. ‘Runaway Train’ is another example of what audiences have to anticipate from this record. That is due in no small part to its featured musical arrangement. Unlike the album’s other arrangements, which blend the band’s familiar glam rock and modern rock leanings, this song take the band and listeners in a completely different direction. This arrangement boasts more of a blend of rockabilly and southern rock. Its blues-tinged sound is immediately infectious and is sure to become an earworm for the band’s established audiences. It harkens back to some of the best works from the likes of Johnny Cash and even Hank Williams Sr.
The song’s lyrical content builds on the foundation formed through its musical arrangement. If the lyrics are correctly interpreted, the song’s subject is someone who has no problem riding the rails, this especially due to a woman who apparently is not happy with him. This is inferred as front man Phil Lewis sings, “Ain’t got no shame/Riding that train/Straight to nowhere bound/Don’t say my name/Travel in shame/Where I ain’t been down/Far out of town/Now I’m gonna lay my head here/My woman back home/Would see me dead/But it’s through the head/That’s what I said/You know what I mean?” This seems a pretty cut and dry tale that in itself throws back to some of the great country rock and even blues-country tunes of days long gone by. When this apparent tale is told against the song’s completely infectious musical arrangement, the whole therein makes ‘Runaway Train’ a solid example of what makes Leopard Skin worth hearing.
‘Runaway Train’ is just one more example of how much Leopard Skin has to offer audiences, too. ‘If You Wanna,’ which closes out the album, is its own engaging and entertaining addition to the album. Clocking in at just under four minutes (three minutes, 50 seconds to be exact), the song is one of those works featured throughout the album that seamlessly blends the band’s original glam rock leanings with a more modern sound. At the same time, a close listen reveals what sounds like a throwback to some of the psychedelic rock sounds of the 1970s, making for even more interest. As with yet another of the album’s standout songs, ‘Following The Money,’ this song is easily comparable to so many works from the likes of Buckcherry (who itself is set to release its latest album this June through Round Hill Records and Earache Records). That raw, garage guitar rock approach and sound is infectious throughout the song and is sure to keep listeners engaged and entertained just as much as ‘Runaway Train’ and the album’s singles.
The song’s musical arrangement is just part of what makes it stand out. Its lyrical theme is of its own note. Again, this is just this critic’s interpretation, but the song’s lyrical theme seems to come across as a discussion on mental health. This as Lewis sings in the song’s lead verse and chorus, “Tell me what you want me to know/Stay around ‘cause I wanna be here/I stop you ‘cause…Don’t play/Just feel the pain/Through the armor that you built/To be brave/Don’t need what they’re talking about/It’s up to you/If you want it/Do it if you wanna/Can’t tell you what you can’t do/Do it if you wanna…Do it if you wanna….Some of the lyrics are difficult to decipher sans lyrics to reference. But the seeming message still cuts through here, especially considering a later note from Lewis that “you don’t need to carry it all inside/All your life/Hope you know it isn’t right/It ain’t right/I know you wanna fight/So do I.” this uplifting apparent message, coupled with the positive energy in the song’s musical arrangement establishes a positive sense among listeners without being just another one of those overly saccharine sweet songs about battling mental health issues that so many acts put out there. The result is a song that is one more example still, of what makes Leopard Skin worth hearing.
Yet one more example still of what makes this record engaging and entertaining comes earlier in the record in the form of ‘Hit and Run.’ This song stands out through its musical arrangement especially in its opening bars. The rhythm line established by drummer Shawn Duncan and the guitar line of Tracii Guns immediately conjures thoughts of Foo Fighters’ hit single, ‘Learn To Fly.’ A side-by-side comparison shows the two songs are quite unlike one another, but that guitar and drum line are collectively so similar and in a very good way. From there though, L.A. Guns’ song goes in a distinctly different direction as it enters its lead verse. The sound and style herein takes the song in a more bluesy/dreamy direction a la works from Chris Isaak, while still managing to hold its own identity even here.
In regard to its lyrical theme, ‘Hit and Run’ would seem to come across as one more of so many songs out there that centers on the all-too-familiar topic of a broken relationship. This as Lewis notes in the song’s chorus, “Didn’t think you’d walk away/Like a hit and run/When the feelings came/I guess I jumped the gun/Didn’t think it’d hurt so bad/Like a hit and run.” He goes on in the song’s second verse about hearing the words of that other person and realizing that “nothing’s left” in looking back on things that happened. Again, here is what points to a likely familiar story of love gone sour. To that end, these words and the song’s semi-brooding musical arrangement make it one more stand out addition to Leopard Skin and example of what the album has to offer audiences. When it is considered alongside the other two songs examined here and that trio along with the album’s two singles and the rest of the record’s entries, the whole therein makes Leopard Skin an overall successful presentation that is one more welcome addition to this year’s field of new rock albums.
Leopard Skin, the latest album from L.A. Guns, is a solid new offering from the veteran rock band that is sure to appeal to the band’s established fan base and to more casual rock fans alike. That is proven through its musical arrangements and lyrical content alike. Each of the songs examined here make that clear, as do the album’s singles. When that grouping of songs is considered alongside the rest of the album’s entries, the whole therein makes Leopard Skin one more welcome addition to 2025’s field of new rock albums.
L.A. guns will tour in support of its new album starting next month. The band’s upcoming tour is scheduled to launch Apr. 22 in Warrendale, PA and to run through July 26 in Beaver Dam, KY. Dates in cities, such as Jefferson, LA; Atlanta, GA and Dallas, TX are also part of the tour, whose schedule is noted below:
DATE CITY VENUE
Tue 4/22 Warrendale, PA Jergels
Wed 4/23 N. Tonawanda, NY Riviera Theatre
Fri 4/25 Derry, NH Tupelo Music Hall
Sat 4/26 New Bedford, MA The Vault Music Hall
Sun 4/27 Millersville, PA Phantom Power
Tue 4/29 Annapolis, MD Rams Head on Stage
Wed 4/30 Ardmore, PA The Ardmore Music Hall
Thu 5/1 Leesburg, VA Tally Ho Theater
Fri 5/2 Hopewell, VA The Beacon Theatre
Sun 5/4 Virginia Beach, VA Elevation 27
Tue 5/6 Atlanta, GA City Winery Atlanta
Fri 5/9 Fort Myers, FL Buddha Live
Sat 5/10 Dania Beach, FL The Casino’s Stage 954 @ Dania Beach Entertainment Center
Sun 5/11 Mount Dora, FL Mount Dora Music Hall
Tue 5/13 Largo, FL Central Park Performing Arts Center
Thu 5/15 Jefferson, LA Southport Music Hall
Fri 5/16 Cedar Park, TX The Haute Spot
Sat 5/17 Dallas, TX Granada Theater
Sun 5/18 Houston, TX Warehouse Live Midtown
Fri 5/23 Omaha, NE Barnato
Sat 5/24 Denver, CO The Oriental Theater
Fri 7/18 West Hollywood, CA Whisky a Go Go
Sat 7/19 West Hollywood, CA Whisky a Go Go
Sat 7/26 Beaver Dam, KY Beaver Dam Amphitheater
Leopard Skin is scheduled for release Apr. 4 through Cleopatra Records. More information on the album is available along with all of L.A. Guns’ latest news at:
Website: https://lagunsmusic.com
Facebook: https://facebook.com/L.A.GunsOfficial
Twitter: https://twitter.com/laguns
