Fresh off the GRAMMY-nominated success of ‘Happiness Bastards’ in 2024, The Brothers Grim Chris and Rich Robinson wasted no time getting back to work and mining this seam of Rock n roll they happened upon. Returning to Nashville to reunite with producer Jay Joyce and recapture the spark that powered their last record, they just got on with business in a much happier place these days and left all their bullshit and background noise in the rear view mirror. The result is another glittering prize that to their credit, is banger after banger. Gone are the long beards and dope fueled jams, and a leaner more back to their roots, rock n roll homage to the Keif and Ronnie and Faces days rock n roll are front and centre.
The Black Crowes have created a rock record that’s loose and loud, and from the off, ‘Profane Prophecy’ is as good a rocker as they’ve delivered in decades, and time will testify that it’s right up there with the really early rockers, all be it with a modern production. The record stays true to the rockier edges of the band’s sound with only a couple of fleeting forays into the acoustic world, but like the early days’ big ballads, they really don’t touch the style. Rich brings the Telecaster riffs on the opening songs, absolutely killing it, on the Keith Richards inspired ‘Cruel Streak’, leaving enough room for his Brother to wail and deliver a stonking vocal as good as anything he’s delivered for decades. It gets funky, dark and heavy with the girls helping out on the chorus and leaving enough room for some honking keys. The breakdown is huge and had me nodding with approval as the fuzzed-up licks keep coming.
We get the first acoustic haze much more in keeping with ‘Exile’ era Stones than any Deadhead workout. ‘Pharmacy Chronicles’ is another excellent performance from Chris as he seems focused and emotional in the best possible way. The arrangement with the keys is impeccable. The rock is then turned up with some fantastic riffage from Rich Robinson on ‘Do The Parasite’. We then have a couple of more laid-back moments for the listener to take stock and catch their breath, ending with the epic of the mellower moments being ‘Queen Of The B Side’, but another thing is that the songs are kept lean and to the point, and none overstay their welcome.
‘It’s Like That’ gets its groove on for a very loud and chaotic workout where the music bounces off the vocals and sparks fly as they jostle for the limelight with some awesome BVs just to make the song kick you even harder in the nuts. Jagged, rock n roll at its finest. The tempo is raised again as we head into the homestright ‘Blood Red Regrets’ makes way for classic riff n roll Crowes style ‘You Call This A Good Time’ before ‘Eros Blues’ picks its way through the intro before shaking any cobwebs away and being the only hippy tinged tune but in the best possible way as it twists and turns before signing the record off with ‘Doomsday Doggerel’ and a levvy breaking drum beat twists your mellon with some fucked up vocal melodies before clearing ones head and stamping a full stop on what is a mightily impressive record and a step up in quality forom their last mightily impressive offering of ‘Happiness Bastards’ and offers a record of variety and impeckable quality ‘A pound of feathers’ is heavy and light and shows that form is temporary but class is permanent and this is class – Buy it!
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Author: Dom Daley
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