Blood Ties very much picks up where When Life Was Hard and Fast left off. Warwick's songwriting style is pretty well entrenched at this point - and this is a short album that gets in and gets out. There are a good mix of harder rock tracks, more plaintive moments, and that folky punk sound that Warwick likes to employ occasionally to ensure there is some variety, though, and the album gets off to a strong start with Angels of Desolation. Opening with a brash guitar riff, topped by a fluid lead, the track is that great mix of up-tempo hard rock and smooth melodies which characterises Warwick's songwriting. Nothing here ever reaches the intensity of The Almighty, but there is still plenty of meat here - with a Bruce Springsteen-esque rhythm guitar tone and the bright guitar leads worming their way into the brain after a couple of listens. Chugging verses packed with pulsing bass playing and laid back distorted guitars are the perfect backing for Warwick's storytelling vocal style - whilst the chorus has some subtle vocal harmonies, which build up over an slightly anthemic wordless melody which also stick in the brain. The song is not exactly a fists-in-the-air rocker - but there is a great sense of melody throughout, with enough crunch to add a hard rock flourish. Rise and Grind features the guitar prowess of Charlie Starr (Blackberry Smoke) throughout. Starr's appearance does not mean that the song suddenly takes a southern or a country rock path - with the hard rock song rooted very firmly in Warwick's core sound. There is perhaps more of a traditional bluesy approach, with less of the folkiness of his typical delivery, and the song does crunch a little more. Warwick has always made strong use of lead guitar playing throughout this songwriting, but Starr is all over this song - his wah-drenched accents during the verses packing a punch whilst bluesy leads during the chorus and the opening riff really elevate the track. A strong chorus, with a hypnotic core hook, further draws the listener in - before a bona fide guitar solo sees Starr let rip. The solo could have been longer in truth - but there is enough here to ensure that the track is a strong effort. Lead single Don't Leave Me in the Dark is less of a hard rocker - and instead goes for more of a cinematic heartland rock vibe with more of a keyboard presence. There are tough Tom Petty vibes throughout, with ringing and brash clean guitar melodies, and the aforementioned keyboards, provided here by session king Steve Ferlazzo, sound big and bright. Lita Ford (The Runaways) duets with Warwick here - her smooth and melodic voice contrasting nicely with Warwick's slightly rougher delivery. The chorus is another strong one - but perhaps the overall highlight of the track is a strong bridge section later on which features both singers harmonising well, before lots of big guitar leads add further hooks.
The somewhat folky The Crickets Stayed in Clovis shows that Warwick can still write songs that have a Black Star Riders vibe and have them feel at home on his solo albums - which is even more reason, in my opinion, why Black Star Riders should fold without Gorham and Johnson. The guitar leads here have strong Thin Lizzy feels throughout, with the opening folky lead paired with an up-tempo rock backing really channelling the songwriting of Phil Lynott nicely. Hearing songs like this make it obvious why Warwick was brought into Thin Lizzy in the first place - and the years of singing Lynott's songs has clearly rubbed off. The folky melodies throughout, both from the vocals and the guitars, are very easy on the ear - and the track is another with a strong chorus. The whole song is an earworm in truth - and it is a real sing-a-long number that is sure to go down well live. Don't Sell Your Soul to Fall in Love is the first of two songs here to feature Billy Duffy (The Cult) on guitars. After the generally hard rocking nature of the album up to this point, Don't Sell Your Soul to Fall in Love feels a little more reined in. A later chorus feels tougher, with striking power chords stabbing away behind Warwick's strident vocals, but the opening and the verses are smoother overall. This is another song with a bit more of a keyboard presence, which creates a bit of an atmospheric feeling, but generally the clean guitars and simple drumming provide a folk rock beat over which Warwick croons in a slightly more restrained manner than usual. Duffy later makes his presence count with a piercing guitar solo - which is perfectly suited to the vibe of the song. The solo section builds from the heavier chorus, but the solo itself is suitably restrained and does not really cut loose - instead building on the song's more precise nature overall. Dead and Gone opens with a gruff spoken word poem, which nicely sets the tone for the slightly more raucous hard rock track which is to follow. The drumming feels punchy from the off, over which Warwick lays down some brash and distorted guitar chords - somehow tapping into the punk side of his playing despite the track generally being pretty mid-paced. The later chorus is a bit smoother, with subtle vocal harmonies and cleaner guitar tones, so the song is somewhat the reverse of the previous one. This time, the verses are a tougher part of the track - and they build on nicely from the staccato drumming of the opening with some busy bass playing and gruff vocals. The Hell of Me and You also features Duffy, and the track opens with a really gnarly riff which sounds like a slight reworking of Guns N' Roses' You Could Be Mine. The guitar tones have that old Guns N' Roses bite, likely thanks to Duffy's additions, but despite this sleazier opening the track is very typical of Warwick's songwriting overall. Despite some slashing, bluesy guitar leads which scream in and out of existence, the album's core sound is retained. There is plenty of energy throughout, though. The chorus is catchy despite its simplicity, building from the opening riff, whilst Duffy really lets his hair down here. Warwick sings really well as always, but this really feels like Duffy's showcase. His guitar leads are essentially ever-present - and he sounds busier than he has done with The Cult for many years. The song is an album highlight as a result.
Crocodile Tears is another slightly folky rock piece - although there is plenty of crunch throughout. Warwick has done acoustic/mostly acoustic albums in the past, but that is not what this album is - so the folkier pieces are instead presented in a harder rock format, relying on hooky guitar lines to bring folky melodies to life and Warwick's storytelling lyrical approach. This is a song, though, which is essentially all about its chorus. The verses are pretty one-note, with a simple rock chug and Warwick's voice, whereas the chorus is packed full of excellent lead guitar playing and simple vocal harmonies. It is another very hooky piece as a result, with the chorus sticking in the brain from the off, and following a number of guest spots Nelson really lets rip during the solo section. Wishing Your Life Away opens with a punky drum groove, and this no-nonsense attitude essentially sets the tone for everything else to follow. This is another straight ahead rocker, with a punk edge, but it feels a bit more energetic overall. This is the song here which comes closest to the sound of The Almighty - and if it was given a bit more of a boost by the other members of the band it could work well in that canon. Presented the way it is, though, that folk/punk edge that Warwick often likes to feature really shines through - and it feels a bit deliberately pulled back at times so that it does not sound much heavier than everything else here. It would have been nice had the song really been cranked up, especially as Nelson lays down another busy solo, but there is a certain smoothness and folky edge to all of Warwick's solo work - so I can see why he sometimes pulls back to allow a more consistent sound to develop from song to song. The album then comes to a close with The Town That Didn't Stare, a track which does not really do anything different compared to what has come before - but packs a nice punch as a closing number. It is not a song which stood out to me from the off, and on my initial listens to the album I actually thought that it ended on a weak note - with the final two songs not really doing much for me. Whilst I do think that this is a front-loaded album, with much of the best material featured early on, the later pieces have grown on me quite a bit - and the staccato rock of The Town That Didn't Stare now feels stronger. The chorus stands out thanks to the staccato call-and-response style that it employs and it gives the song a strident feel as the album comes to a close. Nothing here ever truly diverges from Warwick's long established path at this point, but I generally feel like his formula is a memorable one. Perhaps his best work has come in other bands where he collaborates with other songwriters, but as a solo artist his work always delivers memorable and heartfelt material that sticks to a core sound. Despite some clear influences, his work is always his own - and Blood Ties is another very solid solo album which follows on from the last couple of rockier affairs he has put out under his own name. He will be taking the album on tour later in the year and I am looking forward to hearing some of these songs live - alongside classics from the back catalogue.
The album was released on 14th March 2025 via Earache Records. Below is Warwick's promotional video for Don't Leave Me in the Dark.
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