Kid Rock – Sweet Southern Sugar (2017)

Believe it or not, Kid Rock is still around these days. He transitioned from being a rapper to a rock star, onto doing his own brand of country based music. This, his latest release is a surprisingly good listen. Let’s check it out.

We start off with some native American sounds and trippy backdrop of Greatest Show On Earth before marching into a droptuned piece that sounds great. Some great lyrics are here as well. Kid Rock sounds better than ever here. It’s an excellent piece that sounds, once again, different to anything Kid Rock has done before. It’s catchy as well, with a great guitar solo. Nice way to start, dude.

The follow up song Po-Dunk has a great set of riffs to start with. It leads into a harmony heavy song about a southern girl. It’s a very country style song, but doesn’t sound anything like old country and western songs. It’s Kid Rock in the 21st century for all of us to hear. It’s a quirky and wonderful listen for all to hear. It has many different riffs and samples here, a nice tune.

Tennessee Mountain Hop alludes to good tunes and good times, and lyrically refers to Johnny Depp. Ironically, Kid Rock dissed him on his first album. But hey, this song will make you feel good. That is what great music is about though, it sounds so good that you will refreshed afterwards. It’s an ode to classic rock as well, with references to God as well. An excellent tune, and a shining moment on the album. It is picturesque this song for sure.

I Wonder is an attempt at a postmodern sounding country piece. It’s a loop and electronic based piece. It’s a little weaker but still, it’s Kid Rock. It breaks into a rock heavy song, with a blistering guitar solo. It gets better as it goes along, however, with Kid Rock pleading about a lover that he misses. A good listen anyway.

The next song, American Rock ‘n’ Roll is a pacing, drum driven song about said topic and having a good time. It is a great song for the purpose of music alone. It’s a gentle and driven listen, a classic Kid Rock song for sure. A blistering guitar solo will blow you away here, a decent tune. The chorus is very much a singalong one.

The follow up Back to the Otherside is an acoustic driven piece. It’s about keeping on through tough times, which isn’t sung about much these days. Self-preservation is the theme here, a great anti-Nine Inch Nails sort of song. A good effort. Positivity is the main point.

Raining Whiskey is another acoustic number. It talks about a place that one cannot go back to with a lover. It references a dark place where one goes to drink away their own pain. It’s a good listen with some old fashioned touches about it, which is reflective lyrically. A chilled out sort of vibe is on this tune.

Stand The Pain is another good piece about dealing with issues. It’s a wonderfully constructed and orchestrated piece. Kid Rock knows how to make good music for sure, even at over 40 years old. The theme of keeping strong goes on throughout this album, which is essentially a positive one. The outro is full on.

Up next is Sugar Pie Honey Bunch which is a love song. Kid Rock seems overly serious on this record, which is unusual for him to be so. It’s a quieter and more meaningful listen compared to the other songs on the album. It’s very moving. It’s very committed to a love in Kid Rock’s life, be it real or metaphorically speaking.

The last song on the album is Grandpa’s Jam, is an out there, more rock and roll based. It’s very explicit, and fittingly so. It’s Kid Rock being selfish again, but it rocks hard. A good way to complete the album with a hard rock sort of vibe. A good listen, despite a lot of selfish swearing.

This album is quite good. It shows Kid Rock still has his mojo after all the years of being a musician. Hopefully he keeps on going as he ages. His records are still very consistent, if you like what is written here about Kid Rock, give this a listen.

8/10