In the bustling world of Southern rock, a band must possess something unique to make an impression with their first album. The Georgia Thunderbolts have managed to do exactly that, thanks to their distinctive edge. Their sound is a blend of Southern rock infused with touches of blues, Americana, and even occasional hints reminiscent of British 70s rock.
Their second album, Rise Above It All, follows a similar path and also throws in an interesting cover of Ron Davies’ ‘It Ain’t Easy’ – yes, the one Bowie did on Ziggy. Here it goes all slide-y blues with a neat bass line and it works very, very well indeed. But I’m getting ahead of myself… the first track, ‘Gonna Shine’ has a country feel with a riff and rhythm guitar pattern that stops it going too far into the wilderness. ‘Rock and Roll Record’ follows and begins low key for such a title but, after the piano and heartfelt vocal intro it does build into a satisfying Bad Co feeling plodder. My current favourite is the Free-ish ‘Ain’t Got No Money’ due in part to the Rodgers like vocal intonations and rolling riff, although it heads back south with the great slide solo. ‘Wait’ also hides its intent with a gentle pedal steel and acoustic base as the focus becomes the vocal harmonies with a nice guitar solo to keep it interesting. After the love and loss ballad of ‘Crawling My Way Back To You, we get back to rock with a capital ‘R’. ‘She’s Gonna Get It’ has the riff, the solo, the lyrics and chorus to make it stage ready. ‘Stand Up’ has a nice bass intro and a lovely bluesy riff; closing song, ‘Price Tag’ lets the drum introduce another fine piece of southern rock done well.
Thirteen tracks that may not reinvent the southern wheel but this band know how to stamp their own identity while paying due homage to the genre and, incidentally, beating many of their contemporaries into a cocked hat.
Rise Above It All is out on 23rd August 2024 on Mascot Records.
