The Southern Locomotive Band, here is a band with an explicit name! So did their look, especially that of Danny Southern (that name!), very Dusty Hill. So CD dedicated to lovers of big sound, fans of ZZ Top, or even, in a slightly different register, of Molly Hatchet. This band hails from Georgia and is made up of Danny Southern, guitars and vocals, Greg Carter, bass, and Curtis Hummer, drums, and in 2020 released a self-produced debut album "Somewhere in time" which garnered strong votes. On this new opus, the first titles are a succession of titles imbued with big sound, very fat, on a heavy mid-tempo; 'Contraband' and 'The Net' are certainly faster but don't expect furious cavalcades of guitars, while 'Starting all over again' is backed by cool backing vocals. "Waltz over Texas" is, in my opinion, the weakest track on this album, while "Late night ride" is still heavily guitarized. The album ends quietly with a "Nobody's fault but yours" at a more sustained rhythm, with a "rougher" sound, it is the one that is most in the spirit of Southern Rock, and will close definitively with "Late for the show” very calm, but with a very nice solo.

In conclusion, an album for heavy rock fans, slightly southern tinged, but not as impregnated with this style as its name might suggest or hope.

So let's wait for the third album, announced shortly, to judge if this LOCOMOTIVE BAND can get on the good wagon of "Southern Rock"...

Chris MARQUIS

Translation : Y. Philippot-Degand