Bourbon House - Wild Abandon (2018)

WILD ABANDON is the sophomore release from Wisconsin retro-rockers, Bourbon House. Anyone looking for new female-fronted groove rock, much in the style of "Music in Your Bones," the single from the band's debut album, will find it here.

The album kicks off with "Burn Them Bones," a blues-rock sing-along that recalls the bellbottoms and incense of 1971. Plunge head-long into the second track, "Take Us Away," an up-tempo tribute to the late Chris Cornell that gives a clear nod to early 1990's grunge. "Drown it in Whiskey" brings Bourbon House back to blues-based, roots rock that grabs hold and doesn't let go, saturated in guitar hooks, slide guitars, and soaring vocals. "Yet We Run" seems to be the offspring of "Kashmir" and "Paint it, Black," complete with layers of sitar-like guitars, haunting vocals, and psychedelic overtones. "Jailer" is an experiment in alternating time signatures, much as "The Money" was on the first album, without losing touch with the band's bluesy roots. "Old Man Blues" cautions us to not grow up too fast and offers a barrage of blues-rock riffing. The album's sole ballad is "Don't Stay All Night," a track that delves into the melancholy rather than the sappy, a slow blues in the vein of "Cry Baby" by the great Janis Joplin.. The album drops one final rocker on its audience with the skeptical track, "What's your Mission?"

If the band felt that they were holding back a little on their first album, they have effectively tossed their reservations to the wind and adopted a "let 'er rip" attitude with WILD ABANDON, with lyrics to contribute to the idea. Bourbon House has fun with what they do, experimenting without going prog and rocking as hard as they can, and always offering a few surprises along the way.