There are plenty of reasons to be skeptical when a once-prominent band reassembles decades after its cultural peak. Do they need the money? Are they addicted to the attention? That goes double for bands comprising brothers who are known for their fraught familial relationships, from the Everlys right on through to the Gallaghers (not that Oasis will be re-forming anytime soon) and Chris and Rich Robinson, the siblings and driving force behind the Black Crowes. Yet here come the Black Crowes with Happiness Bastards, their first album of new material in 15 years, and it is very much to the Robinsons’ credit that it feels neither like a nostalgia trip nor a grab for cash.
On the contrary, it’s a respectable collection of bluesy rockers that showcase the brothers’ strengths: Rich Robinson has always had a distinctive sound on guitar, while Chris Robinson’s charisma as a frontman remains undiminished. Chris has said that the only time the brothers aren’t at each other’s throats is when they’re writing songs together, and that shared creative spark is still evident nearly three and a half decades after the Black Crowes exploded onto the charts with Shake Your Money Maker, their 1990 debut.
The band’s sound has evolved over the years from the loose-limbed southern soul vibe of their earlier work, and Happiness Bastards is generally a hard-driving album. The tempos are swift, the guitars are bright and loud, and everything feels a little frenzied, as if the Robinsons were keen to go as fast as possible while they were getting along. Generally, the bombastic pace works. Rich slings a crackling riff on “Rats and Clowns” while Chris rattles off staccato lyrics, bolstered on the chorus by pillowy layers of harmony vocals, before Rich blasts through a revved-up solo—all in about 3 1/2 minutes. Later, “Bleed It Dry” is a big, bluesy shuffle powered by thick, overdriven slide guitar and honky-tonk piano, and Chris adds blowsy harmonica between verses.
When the Black Crowes slow things down here, it doesn’t always last long. “Cross Your Fingers” opens with nothing more than acoustic slide guitar and vocals, but about 40 seconds in, Rich blows the walls down with a scorching wave of trebly guitar. It’s one of the more effective songs on the album, thanks to the arena-ready riffage, but also the way Chris’ lean yowling on the verse opens into a sing-songy chorus underpinned by organ. The band does manage to pull back for a whole track on “Wilted Rose.” Featuring Lainey Wilson on harmony vocals, the mostly acoustic song is more about vibe than virtuosity—a nice (and literal) change of pace after so much piledriving guitar.
If there’s one thing missing from Happiness Bastards (apart from the various ex-collaborators the Robinsons opted not to bring back here), it’s that sense of vibe. The band is very good at high-octane blues rock on these 10 tracks, but the Black Crowes have always been at their best when the songs have some room to breathe. It’s gratifying that Chris and Rich Robinson have found their way back to a fruitful creative partnership. If they can make it last, the next step is to relax a little bit.
Watch Rich Robinson perform “The Music That Will Lift Me” during his 2016 Paste Session below.
Eric R. Danton has been contributing to Paste since 2013. His work has also appeared in Rolling Stone, The Wall Street Journal, the Boston Globe and Pitchfork, among other publications. He writes Freak Scene, a newsletter about music in Western Massachusetts and Connecticut.
