Album Review: The Black Crowes, A Pound of Feathers

2024’s Happiness Bastards marked 15 long years since The Black Crowes released original music. Thankfully, they’ve kept it lit on A Pound Of Feathers, which comes growling (at times literally) out of the gate on ‘Profane Prophecy’, and doesn’t let up until the Sabbath-style closer ‘Doomsday Doggerel’.

The Brothers Robinson are certainly enjoying themselves throughout album number 10 – and why wouldn’t they? Chris’s vocals still sound fresh as a daisy, miraculously just like they did on the group’s multi-platinum debut Shake Your Money Maker, while Rich continues to knock out sacred licks, one after another.

The entangled play of the pair of them on ‘Pharmacy Chronicles’ is marvellous, while the wonderfully titled ‘Do The Parasite!’ is stomping blues-rock at its very best. Rock ballad ‘Queen Of The B-Sides’ closes out, in old parlance, side one, before side two commences with the garage buzzsaw of ‘It’s Like That’ – it’s show-your-medals stuff, and The Black Crowes sure possess rock and roll grit in spades.

Their press release calls them dirty and debonaire, ecstatic and electrifying, soulful and soaring – a pretty perfect summation.

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