Late last month, veteran rock band The Answer released its latest album, Sundowners, through Golden Robot Records. The band’s seventh full-length studio offering, it came more than six years after the release of its then latest album, 2016’s Solas, which was released through Napalm Records. The new, 11-song record is sure to appeal to the band’s established audiences and to most guitar purists. That is due in part to its featured musical arrangements, which will be discussed shortly. The lyrical themes that accompany the album’s musical arrangements make for their own appeal and will be discussed a little later. The record’s sequencing rounds out its most important elements, adding its own touch to the whole and will also be discussed a little later. Each item noted is important in its own way to the whole of the album’s 43-minute presentation. When they are considered collectively the whole makes Sundowners another mostly welcome addition to this year’s field of new rock albums.
Sundowners, the new album from The Answer, is a record that will find easy appeal among audiences, established and otherwise. That is due in large part to its featured musical arrangements. From beginning to end, the album’s featured musical arrangements directly exhibit influences of classic rock and pure guitar rock. ‘Blood Brother,’ the album’s second track (and its first full track following the instrumental opener/title track) to the clearly Black Crowes-esque ‘California Rust’ to the classic/southern tinge of ‘No Salvation’ to the funky sound and style of ‘All Together’ and more, the arrangements exhibited throughout the album each present distinct classic rock and guitar rock leanings. At the same time, each song presents its ow unique identity separate from its counterparts and of course from the works of the bands that have so clearly influenced these works. That the songs largely throw back to the works that made up the band’s existing catalog (especially its earlier albums) will appeal to the more open-minded of the band’s established audiences. That is because, again, these works don’t try to reinvent the wheel so to speak. They are just straight forward, fully accessible works that make the album just as strong a return for those audiences and a jumping on point for new audiences.
The musical arrangements exhibited throughout Sundowners are collectively just one part of what makes the album worth hearing. The lyrical themes that accompany that musical content makes for its own appeal. Right from the record’s outset, the band delivers a seeming message of unity in ‘Blood Brother’ as front man Cormac Neeson sings in the song’s chorus, “I can’t breathe till the air disappears at night/I can’t feel till we’re free from the hate that we got.” That he calls for help from his “blood brother” and “blood sister” throughout the song adds to that sense of wanting that unity. That call for unity is repeated in different fashion later in the album’s run in ‘All Together.’ Neeson sings here, “Unity is power/And power’s what you got” in the song’s lead verse, coming right out and putting that out there. In the song’s chorus, he calls for everybody to come together because “Things are better all together” before adding in the song’s second verse, “Sometimes it might be easy/Just to walk away/But then you don’t got nothin’/Nothing left to say.” These messages of unity are just as welcome and needed today as in any period in the world’s history.
The mandatory song about a relationship is also included in this record in the form of ‘Want You To Love Me.’ The message is clear right from the outset as Neeson sings in the song’s chorus, “I want you to love me/Like I’m a slave to your light/And I need you to love me/Just like a wave on the beach/Whispering something outta reach/How come you know just how to roll me every time.”
Similar themes of relationships are spread across the rest of the album. When they are paired with the record’s fully accessible musical arrangements, that whole makes each song accessible in its own right to the whole of the album. The result is a record whose content makes for reason enough for audiences to hear this record at least once.
As much as the content featured in this record does to make the album interesting, it is just part of what makes the record engaging and entertaining. The sequencing of said content makes for even more interest. For the most part, the sequencing ensures that the record’s energy remains high throughout the album in each composition. There are two points however, — ‘No Salvation’ and ‘Always Right’ – at which slow things down. Those two songs are perfectly placed. That is because they serve so well to break up the record and give audiences a moment to catch their collective breaths by changing things up just enough to make things interesting. That sequencing shows clearly that some thought was put into the aesthetic element. When the positive general effect that results from the sequencing is considered along with the album’s content, the whole leaves Sundowners a mostly enjoyable record for the most devoted of The Answer’s fans.
Sundowners, the latest album from The Answer, is a presentation that the band’s most devoted fans will find appealing. That is due in part to its featured musical arrangements. The arrangements, which throw back to a point, to the works featured in the band’s earlier records. They do this as they present a blend of classic rock and pure guitar rock-influenced compositions from one to the next. Each work is equally infectious, engaging and entertaining because it establishes its own identity separate from one another and from the works in those albums. The lyrical content featured with the musical content is just as accessible in its topics and how the topics are addressed. That makes for its own share of engagement and entertainment. When the overall content is considered, it gives those noted audiences reason enough to take in the album. The sequencing of that overall content puts the finishing touch to the album’s presentation. That is because the clear thought and time that went into the sequencing results in a positive general effect. When the sequencing of the record’s overall content is considered along with the album’s content, the whole makes for all the more reason to hear the album. Each item noted is important in its own way to the whole of the album’s presentation. All things considered they make Sundowners one more mostly welcome addition to this year’s field of new rock albums.
Sundowners is available now. More information on the album is available along with all of The Answer’s latest news at:
Website: https://theanswerrock.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theanswerrock
Twitter: https://twitter.com/theanswerrocks
