- advertisement -

BUCKCHERRY
Roar Like Thunder
Round Hill Records

Lifted spirits!
Motivation!
Purpose!
And lots of rock 'n roll!

Platitudes rarely come easy for a band like BUCKCHERRY who have borne witness to many tales of rock 'n roll excess and excitement throughout their 30 years of activity. Frontman Josh Todd is usually just relieved that he was able to survive the scene's perils, given his own admission that he hadn't expected to live beyond the age of 30. Call it something of a common statement given the similar mantra echoed by some of his elder peers, but approaching 12 studio albums in his band's career, Josh has long looked beyond singing about just simply surviving and is focused more upon what's always weathered his passion for rock 'n roll - the euphoria, the energy, and the entire earnest journey through it all from his own experience.

On BUCKCHERRY's 12th studio album Roar Like Thunder, don't expect a musical paradigm shift towards the use of Autotune and drum loops or guest appearances by Lizzo or Jelly Roll just for the sake of online bragging rights about experimentation; even back when their self-titled album came out in a climate of manufactured boybands, cartoonish nu-metal/gangsta rap fratboys and hackneyed post-grunge/alt-rock burnouts, BUCKCHERRY's main asset was always its unwavering and often unfashionable street smart sound that got them noticed if not always respected. And that same sound has remained faithful and evident a further eleven studio albums later. Granted, throughout that same course, the band's lineup hasn't always stayed consistent, with Todd remaining the sole original member. Yet at the same time, this current BUCKCHERRY lineup, comprised also of guitarists Stevie D and Billy Rowe, bassist Kelly LeMieux and drummer Francis Ruiz, has also been the band's most stable grouping in five years. And the chemistry for the proverbial perfect storm throughout Roar Like Thunder shows an ongoing pattern of the best kind of climate change.

The album's title track and lead single may be the riskiest choice for an opening track given its insanely catchy blistering and exhaustive performance, but it measures its stay wisely before dropping its mic and making a fashionable exit. If anything, it sets the pattern for the rest of the album, showcasing BUCKCHERRY's inner DIY punk ethos in its high-energy performance and blunt force delivery. Yet, while their sound is well nestled in the post-Sunset Strip hard rock era, BUCKCHERRY can also throw down some fast and furious punk/thrash rhythms and riffs in their own right. Follow-up track "When The Sun Goes Down" has a nice glorious punk-sounding vibe to it, as does the oddly Britpop-sounding "Hello Goodbye" with Stevie's jangly opening riff charting the song's course. Could be the fact that the song shares the same name as the b>BEATLES' own happy-go-lucky number which makes it the sort of song that Noel and Liam wish they've copied on any of the first three OASIS albums. Even the funkified opening riff on the groove-laden "Talking About Sex" sounds straight outta Achtung Baby-era U2 while parts of the rhythm guitar sound straight outta October-era U2 while the bluesy slide guitar-opening riff of "Blackout" has enough barroom boogie in its swagger to find room on both Rattle & Hum-era U2 and NEIL YOUNG's This Note's For You. So much for BUCKCHERRY's adulation of the 80's music scene solely being limited to hard rock and metal.

That said, fast, hard and loose will always remain the disciplinary and identifiable-sounding core of BUCKCHERRY's sound, particularly when two quarters of their latest lineup have a combined quarter century of heavy punk rock history and experience at their literal fingertips. Both the aforementioned title track and "The Sun Goes Down" are certainly a great progenitor of their raw unpolished sound, but the closing stomper "Let it Go" is probably the band's second fastest song in their entire catalogue. And even accompanied with a ska/blues sounding backing horn section, "I Go Boom" unleashes a lively dose of catchy raw energy of its own kind - or at least just the right amount in case they ever get mistaken for FISHBONE's pale-looking tattooed distant twinsie cousins.

While Roar Like Thunder appears to follow its similar pattern of past BUCKCHERRY albums where every song has a potential to storm the charts as individual singles, it's also a brave-sounding album that sounds unafraid to rain-er, reign supreme in making some noise in previously foreign-sounding terrain.

5.0 Out Of 5.0

https://www.facebook.com/buckcherry
https://buckcherry.com/
https://www.instagram.com/buckcherry/