Album Review: Inglorious - Ride To Nowhere

With their first two albums, Inglorious has gained some traction with their bluesy hard rock, and especially their vocals. Nathan James has earned his plaudits as one of the best singers out there right now, and that has gotten a lot of ears tuned in. Myself, I wasn't as taken with them as a lot of people were. They had the right elements, but neither of the records had the right spark, or that certain something that makes great albums stand out from the pack. The talent was there, and it was early enough that they should be growing and getting better. That should be the story of this record, but instead the unavoidable context is that after "Ride To Nowhere" was recorded, the entire band, other than James, dissolved. When the band hits the road, and the next time they step into the studio, they will be a completely different collective. That leaves this album in an odd place, a landmark of a group that no longer exists. It is sort of a modern fossil.

The album kicks off aggressively with "Where Are You Now?", which has the same kind of exotic flair that Rainbow employed on "Stargazer" and "Gates Of Babylon". Obviously, this song isn't a seven minute epic, but it does give a bit of a new attitude to the band's sound. It's also perhaps the first time I've heard something in Inglorious that makes me think they are capable of being great. I get that same feeling from "Never Alone", which is a southern-style song that brings in acoustic guitars to play with the dynamics, and has the same feeling Blackberry Smoke conjured up on "The Whippoorwill".

There are some great production choices made on this record, as well. The guitars have a gritty, organic quality to them that I absolutely love. "Tomorrow" is a great melodic rocker, but it's the guitar tone that seals the deal. You can hear the amp breaking up as the verse chords are struck, and there's enough breathing room to the tone that the solo is able to cut through it and absolutely soar. The feel of the music would have been killed if the amps were cranked, and you couldn't get the spaces in between the notes like that.

What impresses me most about the record is that even when the band is playing their heaviest, like they do on "Liar", the songs are now more melodic and memorable than they have been in the past. There is a real sense of growth and development to the songwriting, where they are keying in on what they do best, and sharpening the tips of their pens.

The first two albums showed Nathan James to be a great old-school rock singer, and now he's got an album of songs that can stand up to his voice. I say quite often that most of these bands that aim to sound like classic rock aren't writing great songs. Copying the tones and sounds is easy, but writing is hard. "Ride To Nowhere" not only sounds like a classic rock record, it feels like one too. That's the skill very few bands have been able to achieve, and only one has been able to keep going for more than one record.

That brings me to the hard part of this review. "Ride To Nowhere" is without doubt the best Inglorious record yet. It is head-and-shoulders above the first two, and it hits every mark I could want it to. So what's hard about a damn good rock and roll record? Well, that would be the questions it brings to mind. Is this the beginning of something great, or does the band's collective lineup swap mean it we start an entirely new chapter next time? Those are questions will have to wait to be answered.

For now, let's just take the time to say that "Ride To Nowhere" isn't that at all. It takes us to classic rock's happy place, and does it darn well. With this one, Inglorious has made a top-notch album.