Album review: THE ANSWER – Sundowners
Golden Robot Records [Release date 17.03.23]
After a long wait, 7 years to be exact, Northern Irish rockers, The Answer return with a new album, releasing it on St Patricks day (of course!) and this fan girl gets to review one of her favourite bands, excited is not the word!
The album which was recorded in April 2023 at Middlefarm studios, Devon and was the first time the band had been together in a studio since 2015. It has been produced and mixed by rising British rock producer Dan Weller (Enter Shikari, Bury Tomorrow) and will be supported by a run of UK and European album launch shows.
Says lead singer Cormac Neeson, “We’ve been through a lot as a band, toured the world, made six great records we’re all proud of, and always done our best to make honest and timeless music that connects with rock and music fans in general.
After six albums and a lot of road miles we felt we needed to step back from it all and reset. Whilst that wasn’t an easy decision, with retrospect it’s possibly the best decision we’ve ever made because after seven years away we all came back fired up and the end result is an album we’ve been waiting to make our whole lives…full of good time rock n roll and positive energy created by four brothers who quite frankly just really missed each other. We’re back and we’re ready to bring our best album ever to you!”
So let’s get into it and see what this is all about!
Tracks:
1. “Sundowners” opening the album with the title track with ta tantalising mouth organ intro, is it going to set the tone for the album? All the heavy riffs are as you’d expect, so welcome back The Answer, we have missed you! The smoky whiskey vocals of Cormac set of this rather epic opening track, and the lyrics are accomplished as ever “I’m going to leave this world, like I found it, dancing with the real sunrise. “
2. “Blood Brother” the upbeat groove of this track with a superb baseline that sets this catchy chorus driven off, nice guitar solo too – this is bound to get the crowds going when played live.
3. “California Rust” kicks off with Cormac and then the beat just drops, the tempo is phenomenal and the pace is fast “I heal quickly, like some smooth, California rust”
4 .”Want you to love me” this track showcases Cormac’s comprehensive vocal range, that deep rhythmic groove and the power of the drums throughout – what’s not to like!
5. “Oh Cherry” this is a more bluesy track with the mouth organ making a repeat reappearance, that funky deep bass groove and delicious harmonies, making this track a masterclass in my view, another classic to be added to The Answers impressive, 6 album rich catalogue
6.”No Salvation” that mouth organ, opening harmonies and sublime riffs makes this a real feelgood, rocking track, By this stage you can tell that the band are just enjoying making this album so much, the break has bought them back stronger than ever.
7. “Cold Heart” keeps the upbeat tempo up, which, when I saw the title, I wasn’t expecting!
8. “All Together” Loving that really deep bass groove.
9. “Livin’ on the Line” has got rock anthem written all over it. I can’t wait to hear it live. “get me through this day and I’ll be alright, I can’t wait for this moment to waltz out the door”. Lyrics we can all relate to and a song to cheer anybody’s bad day.
10. “Get Back on it.” This continues the infectious heavy groove.
“Go to get back, get back on it”
I have to say, that I for one, am very pleased that you did.
11 “Always alright” an optimistic and upbeat closing track for the album. Leaving me with a warm fuzzy, feeling, what is an absolute belter of an album.
So it’s been seven long years wondering if The Answer would ever come back, well you’ve just made this rocker very happy, what an album, it’s been well worth the wait!
Stand out tracks for me – Blood Brother, Oh Cherry, No Salvation & Livin’ on the Line
A serious challenger for album of the year. *****
Review by Karen Clayton
TOUR DATES:
Mar 16th Blackpool, Waterloo Bar
Mar 17th Birmingham O2 Institute
Mar 19th Bristol Thekla
Mar 20th London 100 Club
Mar 21st Leeds Key Club
Mar 23rd Belfast Limelight 2
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