British rock ensemble Wayward Sons may be an entirely new band but it sounds as if these guys have been crafting songs and playing together for years. With an emphasis on huge riffs and a crushing rhythm section, Wayward Sons inhabit the same territory as The Answer, Gun, and Rival Sons do, but without sounding like a copy of any of those.

 

This debut offering of theirs harkens back to those golden days when hard rock had some balls to it. It has an intuitive and lively vibe to it that is charming. Album opener "Alive" fails to capture the imagination, but the second track, "Until the End", is where it really takes off and things get groovy and interesting. With its sharp riffs as well as its shifts and changes, it is a compelling and highy addictive tune. From thereon out things ebb and flow a bit in terms of how well-crafted and interesting the cuts are. While standouts "Crush", "Killer Time", and "Don’t Wanna Go" are driven, energetic, and catchy, others such as "Ghost" and "Give It Away" fail to inspire or engage the listener and leave a lot to be desired. Not that they suck or anything like that, but they tend to sound a bit pedestrian and hardly stand out compared to more adventurous tracks such as the album highlights mentioned earlier on.

 

The crunchy sound of the album adds atmosphere to the proceedings and the band is tight, so no complaints there. A few more killer tunes and this would have been a superb album. Still, this is better and more professional than many other releases that are passed off as hard rock in today’s market, but I just wish that it was more solid and entertaining throughout.

Wayward Sons is an uneven affair yet it does contain a handful of infectious tunes that are a pleasure to listen to, so if bombastic hard rock with nods to the 70s and 80s is your thing, then by all means check this record out and play it loud. It might just appeal to you.