Black Stone Cherry's 'Celebrate' - EP Review

It is always nice to be able to talk about some new southern rock on this blog - as new albums in the genre are quite a rarity these days. Most of the classic southern rock acts either no longer exist or have long became heritage acts, content to play the same setlist night after night to fuel nostalgia - and it is not a genre that has generated a huge amount of newer bands over the past 20 or so years. One newer band that is, at least, southern rock in part, though, is the Kentucky-based four-piece Black Stone Cherry. In fact, this year marks 20 years since the band launched onto the scene with their self-titled debut album back in 2006 - something which will be celebrated on a lengthy UK tour later this year. Following the success of their debut album, Black Stone Cherry grew in stature with each new release - until they were arena-level headliners here in the UK. In terms of newer southern rock, then, Black Stone Cherry are easily the biggest on the scene - but the band's southern rock riffs and grooves have often been mixed with the radio-friendly, and often bland, sounds of the US post-grunge scene of the 1990s and 2000s. Given the band members' ages, this influence is no surprise - but it has perhaps been a bit of a double edged sword for the band over the years. Whilst the band's first two albums, which remain their best in my opinion, certainly contained a post-grunge influence, which did help them make their brand of southern rock a bit more hard-hitting and anthemic, it started to dominate their sound on albums three and four. The band grew in popularity as a result, but I get the impression that their label at the time was pushing them further and further down this path - which they were not all that happy with. As such, they took the risk to leave their big label and sign with a smaller label - and, ever since, they seem to have had more creative control and their sound has returned to a better balance of southern rock and post-grunge which leans more towards the former. I have enjoyed everything that the band have put out to some extent, even albums three and four, but the first two remain their best - and I tend to prefer Black Stone Cherry when the southern rock is allowed to truly shine through. This is why I liked their last album, 2023's Screamin' at the Sky (which I reviewed here), so much - as it was a short, sharp, hard-hitting southern rock album that contained just enough of a post-grunge influence to push anthemic hooks but not enough to flood the album with ballads and bland rockers. It may well be my favourite album since the first two, and it was one that I played a lot when it came out - which was helped by the band playing a UK tour of small venues, some of the first they ever played here as headliners, to promote its release which I was lucky enough to get a ticket to. As such, I was looking forward to the next thing from the band - but news on new material did not seem all that forthcoming. A couple of singles dropped towards the end of last year, though, so something new was clearly around the corner - but I was a bit disappointed when the band announced that their next release would be a digital-only EP. As a physical media collector the digital-only format was a disappointment - but I nevertheless was looking forward to something new from the band. I have to say, too, that I was disappointed when I first listened to the seven songs here. It has grown on me somewhat, but, the excellent title track aside, Celebrate is a bit lacklustre. It is probably the band's weakest collection of songs since 2014's Magic Mountain (which I reviewed here) and, tellingly, it is their least southern rock-sounding release maybe ever.

The contrast between the last album and Celebrate could not be more stark, then, and I do hope that this is not a direction which the band want to push going forward. There are things to enjoy here, and it has grown on me as I said, but compared to the band's best work this feels quite bland and lacking in any real hard rock fire. As I said, though, the EP kicks off in fine fashion with its title track, a hard rocking number that will certainly find a home in the band's live set going forward. The opening, effects-heavy riff sounds strange - but when the main guitar chug kicks in, with a cold synth backing, the song gets going. It is not the most southern-sounding song, but there is enough here to keep me interested - with frontman Chris Robertson in fine voice during juddering verses, which features stop-start riffing and a strong bass presence from Steve Jewell Jr. There is less overt riffing here, but the grooves created throughout the verses are strong - and the riff which later follows the main chorus does have something of a southern rock edge which harks back to the band's early days. The guitar solo which later sits atop this same riff is another moment which harks back - whilst the sing-along chorus feels both anthemic and suitably poppy. There is a big synth backing throughout the whole song, which is a different from the norm and not something I really want from the band - but the song rocks hard enough to overcome this concern. Neon Eyes is a bit riffier, at least early on, and it is another of the songs here that I like. The main riff is very much classic Black Stone Cherry, with a rawer guitar tone compared to the previous track - and some trademark busy bass drum work from John Fred Young. I think that part of my issue with this EP is the overall production. Black Stone Cherry sound at their best when they do things the simple way, but they have experimented quite a lot with synths and strange effects throughout - and this song feels a bit blunted by them. The main riff is great, but it feels a bit layered with synths when it is reused for the decent chorus - and there are often effects on Robertson's voice during the song, with sparse verses and a juddering pre-chorus all feeling a little synthetic. I do like the song overall, and I am sure it would sound better live, but I just wish some of its natural power was allowed to shine through. Caught Up in the Up Down is a rocker, which opens with a pretty hard-hitting riff - so there is a lot of promise here. The riff has a southern edge, and there is a strong groove during the verses, but I find the vocal melodies and the eventual chorus to be a bit braindead overall. The semi-rapped verse vocal rhythms, despite some great bass playing underpinning them, remind me of some of my least favourite songs that the band have done in the past - and the chorus has a mindless sing-song feel which showcases the worst side of that American radio rock sound that I really dislike. The instrumental sections are great, such as the strong riffing and later solo, but the melodies are not to my taste - and seem thrown together somewhat to fit a formula the band had largely left behind. I'm Fine slows things down somewhat, opening with a bluesy, mid-paced melody - but, again, this song feels a bit buried in effects. The synths are not as prominent as they are elsewhere, but the guitar tones here are not all that pleasing - with thin leads and droning rhythms which do little on the riffing front. There are some moments early on which rely on a drum machine or similar for a quieter sound, which is a travesty given that Young is one of the most unique drummers of recent years, whilst elsewhere the guitar melodies are bland and lacking in any sort of distinctive pattern. Robertson's vocals are at least heartfelt - but the song overall does little for me.

A slower number which does work more positively in my opinion, though, is the ballad Deep. Dark, clean guitar melodies open things up, over which Robertson sings in a downbeat and emotive manner. This is not a complicated song, but Black Stone Cherry have often written strong ballads - and this is one of the EP's better cuts. The simplicity of the opening verse is welcome, and when the band crash in for the slow-burning chorus it does feel powerful - with the softer guitar tones working nicely this time. I like it, too, that later verse renditions are much more powerful. Young's drumming is allowed to shine this time, and his punchy sound actually works well despite it maybe being too 'loud' for a traditional ballad - whilst, again, the bass does some interesting things in the background. The chorus is very radio-friendly, but I do not mind the simplicity when it comes to ballads like this - and Robertson has the voice and conviction in his delivery to make songs like this feel real. A brief guitar solo and some interesting melodic sections allow Robertson and fellow guitarist Ben Wells to try a few different things, too, and overall the song is a bit of a highlight. Returning to something harder rocking, the opening riff to What You're Made Of is a bit more of what I want from the band. Unlike some of the songs here, though, this song feels somewhat tougher throughout - so it is a bit stronger overall. The verses do rein it in a little, but there is still some crunchy guitar riffing in the background, creating some off-kilter grooves - whilst the chorus moves back and forth between louder, riffy sections and some grungier moments. Another of my main issues with this EP is that on so many of the songs it feels as if the band has deliberately pulled back - scared of sounding too heavy. Black Stone Cherry are essentially always at their best when they just rock out and go for it with a big riff and hook - so I am unsure why they have chosen to neuter themselves somewhat here. What You're Made Of has plenty of good ideas, but it is held back by the band holding themselves back - and I just wish the song was allowed to really rock. The EP comes to a close with a cover of Simple Minds' Don't You (Forget About Me). I know little about Simple Minds so it is not a song I am familiar with - but it fits in with the rest here as it rocks to an extent, without really ever letting rip. Tyler Connolly (Theory of a Deadman) adds his voice to parts of the song - singing alongside Robertson. His more typical post-grunge snarl only aids to make the cover sound more generic than it otherwise would have. Even at their most post-grunge-influenced, Robertson's southern soulful delivery has helped Black Stone Cherry to stand out - with Connolly's nasally delivery sounding ten a penny instead. The song is not terrible, and the chorus is pretty strong, but with no real big riffs to talk about, more synths, and an unnecessary guest vocal spot, it is just not something I want or need from Black Stone Cherry. Overall, then, Celebrate has two songs I genuinely like a lot (the title track and Deep), two songs I like but feel held back by the band's production and performance choices (Neon Eyes and What You're Made Of), and three which do little for me. Given that this is the first new material from the band in three years, such a return is disappointing and I hope that this EP was seen as opportunity for the band to try some new things and experiment before returning to something more hard rocking and groovy on their next proper album. I am looking forward to seeing them live later in the year, and some of these songs will certainly sound better live, but new Black Stone Cherry material is sadly not always a guaranteed winner - and I hope for better next time.

The EP was released on 6th March 2026 via Mascot Records. Below is the band's promotional video for Celebrate.