Black Stone Cherry are determined to mark their successes in life, and the very literally named ‘Celebrate’ is seven tracks dedicated to just this. That said, don’t expect songs you can blow out your birthday candles to; ‘Celebrate’ represents just about making it through the day with your friends at your side.
No one could accuse them of subtlety, but we don’t love Black Stone Cherry for their nuanced, cerebral approach to life. We’re here for huge riffs and Chris Robertson’s Kentucky wail. “Celebrate – you made it through another one today,” he calls on the massive opening title track, a song that Black Stone Cherry’s fans will clutch to their hearts, and one that will blow the room off the intimate venues they’ve picked for their next UK tour. Lead single ‘Neon Eyes’ is bombastic stadium fuel, grooving on the verses and featuring the guitar glory that we’ve fallen for time and again over the past two decades. If you’re in the need of wobbly bass and hip swinging tales of nightlife and unrequited desire, we’ve got ‘Caught In The Up Down’ to fulfil that need in scorching style.
So far, so expected. But under the surface, the band have been dealing with their own private grief, which likely accounts for the way ‘Celebrate’ switches between big anthems and songs ripped straight from their hearts. ‘Deep’, aside from inevitably foreshadowing a major lighters-up moment when performed live, taps into the darkness of loss, with its lighter acoustic touches and winding swings between vulnerability and resolution. It immediately follows the grunge swoops of ‘I’m Fine’ – a self-destructive longing for a break – that’s cut with beams of guitar. The darker, more honest side of ‘Celebrate’ feels much more powerful. It’s as if Black Stone Cherry are setting themselves a challenge to express their troubles in a way that emphasises their personal strength through rock, and it’s far more than you’d expect from their average output.
Then, just when you’ve adjusted to the two poles of ‘Celebrate’, they drop in their cover of ‘Don’t You (Forget About Me)’ with Tyler Connolly of Theory Of A Dead Man. Black Stone Cherry know the iconic chorus all too well, having performed the song at numerous festivals. Once the moment of recognition passes, we realise we’re being treated to a solidly fuzzy hard rock update to the karaoke classic hit. It might seem to come out of the left field to the uninitiated, but it’s definitely a party jam that fits the huge Black Stone Cherry style.
With less than a half-an-hour runtime, it’s somewhat of a fleeting return for Black Stone Cherry. Regardless, no one can really complain about new music from everyone’s favourite southern rockers. With enough innovation, surprise and depth to capture our interest, plus all the guitar heaviness and charisma that we’ve already come to expect, we can be content that ‘Celebrate’ channels positivity through each and every chord.
KATE ALLVEY