Mascot [Release date : 23.08.24]

The Georgia Thunderbolts are an unapologetic retro band with a Southern rock meets early 70’s British blues-rock feel, which will hold wide appeal for heritage rock fans.

‘Rise Above It All’ is a suitably titled album for a road tested band whose life experiences seep into the pores of every track and who have earned the right to be part of the current Southern rock revival.

Refreshingly, everything is predicated on the bedrock of their own material and a couple of well chosen covers.

And as the title suggests, it’s an album that preaches the merits of resilience and blue collar industry, albeit in a Southern setting.

The key to the potential success of this album is the diverse ways the band restate the tenets of Southern rock on a riff driven album.

They leave plenty of room for vocalist T.J. Lyle’s Paul Rogers style of phrasing and guitarist Logan Tolbert’s wide tonal array, over the muscular rhythm section of drummer Bristol Perry and bassist Zach Everett.

They forge their own style through an inventive melange of Southern rock, blues-rock, occasional country tinged rock and even grunge.

They open with a country riffed intro to ‘Gonna Shine’ – imagine The Outlaws meets the Stones – which lyrically taps into the overarching theme of self affirmation.

Musically, the track also fits the perfect harmony of instrumentation woven through the fabric of an album with a refreshingly varied take on Southern rock.

So while the big sounding ‘Moonlight Play’ evokes The Allman Brothers, and they veer towards early 70’s Brit blues-rock on Frankie Miller’s ‘Ain’t Got No Money, (on the 2^nd Miller cover of their career), this is an album on which they purposefully explore their own niche.

The big sounding ‘Rock And Roll Record’ is full of crashing chords and a monster guitar break that sets the standard for a muscular album routed in Southern rock, but not defined by it.

This is especially so on the show building, booming title track and the similarly uplifting ‘Stand Up’, both of which are closer to grunge than Southern rock.

This is a well crafted album with enough spark and decent songs to allign itself to an evolving musical heritage, rather than relying on overused formulaic country tinged clichés.

One reason for that is that the focus is always on T.J. Lyle’s immaculate phrasing which frequently gets inside the lyrics to pull the band up to another level.

His phrasing has a confidence and at times a swagger that recalls Paul Rogers, as he dominates the songs with a husky timbre, a clarity of diction and a natural vivacity.

It’s also an album that flows like a slow moving river with a deep current, as on the tension building ‘She’s Gonna Get It’, on which TJ’s raucous vocal is matched by Tolbert’s final ripping shred, which gives the song its cathartic release.

There’s also a cool use of dynamics as evidenced by the light and shade of the pedal steel tinged ‘Wait’.

The warmly produced track frames a harmony heavy hook on which the titular line has an unlikely echo of Simon & Garfunkel’s ‘Homeward Bound’, and is anchored by Zack Everett’s luscious treacly bass notes.

Vocalist T.J. is again the centre of attention on the vocal and acoustic intro to ‘Crawling My Way Back To You’, an emotive ballad on which his more nasal attack evokes John Fogerty.

The album also has a very live in the studio feel, which is built from the rhythm section upwards, meaning that even the more lumbering efforts like ‘Little Jim’ sounds like Bad Company, while a straight ahead cover of Ron Davies’s ‘It Ain’t Easy’ (popularised on Bowie’s Ziggy Stardust album) has a reinvigorated feel.

Put simply, The Georgia Thunderbolts are not here to reinvent the wheel. They imaginatively find their own way to becoming the new gatekeepers of Southern rock and Americana with a diverse set of original songs, inspired playing and plenty of youthful energy. ****

Review by Pete Feenstra

Featured Artist: JOSH TAERK

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UK Blues Broadcaster of the Year (2020 and 2021 Finalist) Pete Feenstra presents his weekly Rock & Blues Show on Tuesday at 19:00 GMT as part of a five hour blues rock marathon “Tuesday is Bluesday at GRTR!”. The show is repeated on Wednesdays at 22:00, Fridays at 20:00). This show was first broadcast 26 November 2024.

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Power Plays w/c 9 December 2024

In this sequence we play ‘The Best of 2024′ GRTR! reviewer selections

Featured Albums w/c 9 December 2024

09:00-12:00 The Best of 2024 (Melodic Rock)
12:00-13:00 The Best of 2003-2024 (Melodic Hard Rock)
14:00-16:00 The Best of 2024 (Singer Songwriter)