The Union is the first proper album from The Glorious Sons, following last year’s EP Shapeless Art. The quintet from Kingston, Ontario once again chose John-Angus MacDonald from The Trews to produce their recording, and the result is a really polished album that lets the songs speak for themselves.
The EP got them some airplay across Canada for White Noise and Mama (along with a nomination for the 2014 SiriusXM Emerging Artist Of The Year, and a nod for Best New Group at the 2014 CRMAs), and the album picks up right where they left off. The opening track, Man Made Man, opens with guitar chords reminiscent of AC/DC, and it is tempting to write them off right away as unoriginal. But that would be a great mistake (in hindsight, the guiro backing should have been a giveaway that this wasn’t to be your average run of the mill rock record). The 11 tracks that make up the album show a lot of different sensibilities, from the more poppish Lightning to the hard rock of Heavy to the southern rock tinted The Union to the folk rock of Gordie. One constant though is the great melodies and rousing choruses that will have you bobbing your head and singing along.
The songwriting is top notch all over, weaving in and out a long list of influences seamlessly without ever really sounding derivative. And while tracks like the lead off single Heavy or White Noise (making a return appearance from their EP) are definitely radio singles, the rest of the album is strong from start to finish with no filler. Definitely a must for fans of melodic rock.
The Glorious Sons will be opening for Airbourne this fall, with Canadian rockers One Bad Son also on the bill.
(This review was originally written for Montreal Rampage) Check out also my interview with singer Brett Emmons.
He's also a regular contributor at the excellent news site Montreal Rampage
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