SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: THE BLACK CROWES – A POUND OF FEATHERS

THE BLACK CROWES
A POUND OF FEATHERS
SILVER ARROW RECORDS

Since reforming in 2019, The Black Crowes have remained in constant motion through numerous tours, a recent string of remastered boxsets (including last year’s reissue of Amorica and Live At The Greek), and their previous studio album, 2024’s Happiness Bastards. The band, led by singer Chris Robinson and guitarist Rich Robinson, has now returned with their latest studio album of new material, A Pound Of Feathers.

A Pound Of Feathers opens with the all the crunch and fury of “Profane Prophecy.” There is an undeniable air to the song, from the rhythmic strut of the riff and the slide guitar solo, that is highly reminiscent of The Rolling Stones. This, however, isn’t Sticky Fingers, but that is the precise vein The Black Crowes have found on the opening track and lead single. Both “Pharmacy Chronicles” and “It’s Like That” continue to double down on an early ‘70s Stones vibe, the former taking shape in a jangly and primarily acoustic ballad and the latter a fuzz-laden, raucous rocker overflowing with attitude, only to open up into a chorus of grandeur, accented by a choir of gospel voices à la “Remedy.”

Beyond the singles, there is much to celebrate on A Pound Of Feathers. From the loose psychedelia of “Blood Red Regrets” to the yearning balladry of “Queen Of The B-Sides,” or the winding riffs of “Eros Blues,” to the haunting, slow burning suspense of “Doomsday Doggerel,” A Pound Of Feathers is a marvel of a rock record. Revelry and debauchery ebb and flow simultaneously as The Black Crowes perform with a hunger you’d expect from a much younger band, only to be elevated by a soulful touch that seems to come naturally to them.

Even if Mick and Keith are intertwined within the sonic DNA of A Pound Of Feathers, there is something both refreshing and familiar about the no nonsense, balls to the wall sound and attitude of the record. The Black Crowes are both gritty and graceful on their tenth studio album, a record that is both nostalgic for some of their earliest bodies of work while establishing their status as veteran leaders among the emerging new wave of classic rock.

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