This 2016 album is another care of Jerry and Dave, with this album featuring the former only. From what I can ascertain, this was either a side project of The Lizardz or an attempt to break through using a different name as it includes all the members of that band in Jamie Bruhn, Milo Plante, Mark Larson and Travis Plantico along with some guests. Bruhn is the only person on virtually every song, often contributing vocals, guitar and bass so this may have been viewed originally as a solo release but put out as a band. I note it states on the Bandcamp site that it features Ric Parnell of Spinal Tap and Richie Castellano of Blue Öyster Cult, but this is just something to grab people’s attention as their contributions are minor in comparison to others. Interestingly, there is one song which features just Jerry and Michelle King which is very different indeed to the rest of the album, containing picked banjo, and it is quite at odds with the rest so am not sure why it is there.
As for the rest of the album, this is good solid American hard rock, with “Nowhere To Smoke” coming across as good old-fashioned Foghat (yes, I know they were English). If the whole album had been more like this then I am sure I would have been hailing it as a classic as this is ballsy fun from beginning to end. However, the rest of the album comes across as something which is really enjoyable to listen to while it is playing but would rarely be something one would choose to put on in the first place as there is little here which really makes it stand out. If I had seen them play then it is quite possible I would buy the CD to relive the evening, but it is not something I would otherwise have listened to and it is unlikely I will play it again as this is middle of the road pub rock with an American flavour which is pleasant but hardly essential. 6/10 Kev Rowland
