Fifteen years is a long time between albums, but Quo bassist John ‘Rhino’ Edwards returns with what is very much a family effort, his sons Max (drums) and Freddie (guitars) and daughter Mae (backing vocals) all chipping in to create a no-frills, high-energy blast of rock’n’roll with an emphasis on variety, and more than a few barbed lyrics.
The uninitiated might expect endless Quo-esque boogie-thons, but the only major forays are the excellent pub rock of Cougar and self-explanatory One Note Blues.
Elsewhere the emphasis is on diverse songwriting, resulting in some unequivocal highlights – the witty Famous, thrashing Black Widows and propulsive Tomorrow Is Today – and the less-than-great All The Girls Love A Bastard and Powerplay: Edwards is not a born singer and he is most definitely not a rapper.
These latter two howlers aside, though, what you get is cheerfully, cheekily honest and infectiously catchy.
