For the last good decade, Rock'N'Roll has not been able to reinvent itself very much. There have been the occasional exceptions, here and there but, fundamentally, not many music artists have been capable to reignite that fire brought by the Prog or Psychedelic Rock of the late 70's, the Hard-Rock or Heavy-Metal of the 80's or the Grunge of the 90's.

It is therefore a relief, every so often, to come across to a record that embraces different stages of the last 5 decades of Rock'N'Roll, translating them in a more personal and contemporary form like the brand new record of the American guitarist and singer/songwriter Jared James Nichols.

Through his self-titled new album, the Milwaukee-born artist embarks a rather entertaining journey through some of the most significant moments of the evolution and growth of Rock of the last half a century, applying to his new songs the appropriate layers of sound that would better dress his songwriting, his powerful vocals and his undisputed guitar playing skills.

Since his 2015's debut album called Old Glory & The Wild Revival, Nichols' songwriting and vocal delivery has hugely grown, as amply demonstrated into the American guitarist's new album.

Jared James Nichols is a hugely inspired record that gifts the listeners with some very special moments, both on a musical level, through Nichols' exceptional Gibson Guitar sound and through the artist's rather stunning vocal deliveries.

The way that the album is constructed is also extremely clever by the American artist. While Nichols is mindful of his musical roots and appreciation of genres like Blues and 70's Psychedelia (emerging especially in songs like the openers My Delusion and Easy Come, easy Go, among others) or Hard-Rock (through tunes like Hallelujah, Bad Roots or the rather breathtaking Saint Or Fool), the guitarist and singer/songwriter also shows a natural ability in writing tunes packed with melody and strong bridges and choruses, like Skin'N'Bone and Long Way To Go that are totally Rock Radio friendly or even tunes of a more anthemic kind, like Down The Drain or the emotional album closing tune Out Of Time.

Jared James Nichols' self-titled album is a huge breath of fresh air in a sometimes over-inflated contemporary Rock Mecca. Into the sound of the gunslinger from Milwaukee, there is the sound of an artist that has been working incredibly hard to earn the attention of the music press and the Rock enthusiasts, through great passion, natural musical ability and heartwarming artistic honesty. A Rock'N'Roll record of timeless beauty.

 

 

 

Jared James Nichols album is out now and available to be purchased at Amazon