Generally the quality is pretty high throughout this album. Mogg still sounds in fine voice, despite age deepening his trademark delivery - and the bluesy hard rock which the rest of the band conjure up around him suits his vocal style nicely. His knack for a snappy chorus hook remains, too, and that is evident from the off - with the excellent lead single Apple Pie kicking things off. The track opens with some effects-heavy guitar melodies, with a strong bassline underpinning them, which are very typical of Newton's writing style. The song slowly builds around them, though, with Lazarus soon adding a drum build-up - and when the band crash in proper the song morphs into a muscular hard rocker with a melodic guitar hook and a strident groove. Mogg might have never had the biggest vocal range, but he is one of the most underrated vocalists in rock in my opinion - and he shines here despite his advanced years. He croons his way smoothly through the song's verses, which feature a percussive drum groove and a mix of the intro effects-heavy guitars and something more potent, whilst the chorus is much rockier - with subtle harmony vocals and a snaking guitar lead. Mogg sounds as commanding as ever and his style remains distinct. The album has strong UFO shades as a result, despite the lack of any of that band's famous guitar slingers, and I think if the album had been released under the UFO name there would not have been too many complaints. I like that all of the focus is on Mogg here, though, despite the band still showing off at times - as with a great two-part guitar solo here which mixes a bluesy start with a more shredded finish. Upping the tempo, Sunny Side of Heaven is a crunchy hard rocker from the off - with more of an urgency than the previous number. The soulful backing vocals of Zoe Devlin Love (Alabama 3) are utilised a lot here - and she makes numerous appearances throughout the album. Her gospel-inspired vocals often compliment Mogg's more working class delivery - and the chorus here is filled with her wordless hooks, whilst the verses see her singing alongside Mogg at times to fill out the sound. Given that the song is a guitar-driven hard rocker, these additional melodies are welcome - but generally the band lock into a faster groove here, propelled by a snappy drum beat and the occasional guitar lead. A bridge section later adds some organ into the mix, but this is not a particularly keyboard-heavy album - and a busy guitar solo soon takes over. Like the first song, though, Sunny Side of Heaven is a real earworm - and it completes a powerful opening one-two punch. Face of an Angel goes for a moodier vibe - with the sound of rain early on joined by some acoustic guitar melodies and the odd chiming note. This early part of the song is very atmospheric, with the two guitar parts growing in stature as the rain pours - but once Mogg starts to sing the song becomes something more rocking, despite a more deliberate pace. The energy of the opening two numbers is replaced by a crawling pace and a pulsing drum and bass groove - with the band often stepping back to allow Mogg to sing alongside just the drums. The song feels a bit stop-start as a result, but this helps its strange vibe and lumbering groove to permeate - and there is still plenty of guitar firepower thanks to some sludgy riffing and a few bluesy leads.
I Thought I Knew You also opens quite slowly, and there actually a surprising Iron Maiden influence very early on - with a melodic clean guitar melody and synth sounding similar to how Iron Maiden often open their longer pieces these days. The comparison stops when the song starts proper, though, as it is actually somewhat similar to the previous track - as it is another somewhat moody piece with a dour vocal delivery and some low-slung guitar action. Carter's keyboards are utilised a bit more here, with the verses backed by some simmering synths - before a more string-adjacent texture is used to bulk out the chorus. Despite the murkier vibe, the chorus is still memorable - and the riffing is still pretty sharp at times. This is especially noticeable behind the guitar solo, which is a real melodic feast, but at times the tone can be a little bluesier - especially when combined with the keyboard textures utilised. Following two tracks which trod a murkier path, The Princess Bride feels like more of a majestic hard rocker - and the energy of the opening couple of tunes returns. As is quite common here, though, the song opens slowly - with some emotional guitar leads setting an early mournful tone, before the band crash in and the song becomes a hard-driving mid-paced hard rocker with another strident, classic rock feel thanks to snappy guitar riffing and the subtle use of dancing synths. Love's voice is put to good use again here, with the chorus really benefitting from her soulful delivery. She really adds a lot to the album and it helps to separate the songs here from UFO's classic sound somewhat. Her voice helps to add some vocal diversity, too, given Mogg's limited range - but his rich tone still drives everything here, with the chorus being another hooky moment. The guitar solo section is more cinematic and considered, too, with the melodies feeling much more constructed and planned out - especially given that it follows a keyboard-heavy bridge section which adds to the song's overall grandeur. The song's symphonic outro transitions nicely into Other People's Lives (correct apostrophe use) - which also opens with strings and dense textures. It is a track which slows the pace down again, but the song is no ballad - and instead feels much heavier overall with a Black Sabbath-esque main riff and a lumbering groove from the rhythm section. Simple keyboard textures similar to the song's opening are slowly added to the mix, and they reach their zenith when the chorus kicks in. The chorus feels grander than the rest of the song, with Love's vocals again adding depth, and the verses generally feel quite primal thanks to the smouldering riffing and the aforementioned slower pace. Mogg sounds great over this sluggish beat, though, and I like how the song creates a real heaviness despite never really crossing over into metal. There is an old-school blues toughness to the piece which really shines - and this is also later present during the guitar solo which is another relative slow-burner, despite some real screaming leads towards the end.
A personal highlight here, though, is the snappy and punchy Tinker Tailor. It might not be the fastest or the heaviest piece here, but it has a strong groove from the off - with a pulsing, staccato guitar riff which is nicely augmented by some Hammond organ. Organ always helps a rock song to scratch a certain itch and, whilst the guitars still dominate, the song reminds me of the times that UFO occasionally let the late Paul Raymond lay into his Hammond. The arrangement is a little busier overall as a result, and this is capitalised on by plenty of guitar leads. The riffing is consistent throughout, but the verses are packed with lots of bluesy outbursts - which nicely compliment Mogg's vocal delivery. The chorus is a snappy one, which ups the pace somewhat, and it might be the one which features Love's voice the most - with her hooky refrains being real earworms. It is a simple chorus but it is one of the album's most memorable moments in my opinion - and the rumble of the Hammond underneath the guitar solo helps to give the song a real 1970s edge. The melodic bass opening of Weather is another classic Newton riff, and it could have easily sat on a Voodoo Six album, but the rest of the track is more akin to the core sound the band have conjured up here - at least the more slow-burning and rumbling side which has been present in about half of the songs up to this point. The track is a little more dynamic, though, with a good mix of riffier moments and sections which see the drums drop out to allow murky clean guitars and keyboards to add an atmospheric edge. The song has a big sound as a result and I like the mix of cleaner moments alongside the rock. Despite many of the songs here starting slowly, there have not been a lot of genuinely low key moments on the album up to this point - a big guitar riff is never too far away. It is great to see that Mogg still loves to rock after all these years, but in some ways I am surprised there are not more breaks in the action. The short instrumental piece Harry's Place somewhat is, though, as it is a slightly jazzy flute-led track which sounds like something from an old spy film set somewhere exotic from the 1950s. It has those cliché flute trills for effect, but it works well as a brief interlude, and it acts nicely as the intro to The Wrong House. Despite the extended intro, though, The Wrong House is another pretty muscular hard rocker - and it ups the pace again thanks to a driving drum beat and lots of snappy vocals from Mogg. Like the opening couple of songs on the album, this is a track that impresses thanks to its energy and hard rock attitude. There is a strong groove thanks to Newton's pulsing bassline, but the overall highlight for me is a smoother chorus - which is introduced by a hooky clean guitar melody to bridge the two parts of the song. Soulful backing vocals are once again used during the chorus so there is plenty more depth to enjoy here - whilst another soaring guitar solo helps to pin everything together.
The final two songs here feel a little more expansive than anything else on the album up to this point. They are not exactly prog epics, but they are a little on the longer side and they feel more involved instrumentally - with Carter in particular opting for his keyboards a little more. The penultimate track Shane opens with a jazzy piano flourish, before it morphs into a Kashmir-esque hard rocker with Eastern-tinged keyboards pulsing around the verses. The keyboards feel a lot more prominent here as a result and there is also space given over to lead guitar moments - with a short solo cutting through the mix following the first chorus. The arrangement is less snappy as a result, but Mogg is no stranger to the occasional more involved and expanded piece - and the album ending on a bigger scale feels fitting. It gives the album more of a feeling of a journey, even if it is not a concept album, and the driving synths build on some of the more rudimental uses of them early on. The guitar solo here is another excellent one and it is likely the most epic one on the album up to this point. It really screams through the mix with a bluesy wonder - and it suits the overall hard rock majesty of the piece nicely. Album closer Storyville follows, and the track is essentially a ballad. It is the slowest number here and it is based around some simple electric piano melodies - with a shuffling drum groove and shimmering keyboards adding further depth. Bluesy guitar leads are once again used to great effect, and there is another short solo after the first chorus - mimicking the arrangement of the previous track. Despite all of these additions, though, it is Mogg's emotional vocal delivery which really shines. He has sounded great throughout the whole album, but this slow-burning ballad really allows him to lean into his storytelling and Bruce Springsteen-esque side - with his aged voice perfectly conjuring up the emotions of the lyrics as Carter adds the ringing piano chords around him. Considering that the album has been pretty hard hitting up to this point, ending on a ballad works well. Mogg has sung a few key ballads over the years, but this piano-led, downbeat number is a great antidote to all of the bluesy hard rock which has come before - and it makes up for the aforementioned general lack of cleaner moments besides a few song intros. It is an emotionally weighty piece, with some more great guitar moments, and it ends the album on a high. Despite this, though, there are no real weak moments here. Even the songs which did not grab me at first have generally grown on me - and I like how vital much of the album sounds. It would have been easy for Mogg to retire, or put out something very downbeat, but much of this album still rocks pretty hard - and it is great to see him still doing what he does best. The band he assembled really brought out the best of him, too, and it is great to see him working with Carter again creatively - and his writing partnership with Newton has already flourished. Whether this album will remain a one-off or is the start of a new long-term project is hard to know - but I would certainly like to hear more from this group should Mogg have more to say.
The album was released on 6th September 2024 via Steamhammer/SPV GmbH. Below is the band's promotional video for Apple Pie.
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