Ohio might be a ****hole, but if it can produce a band as good as Red Sun Rising maybe there's more than meets the eye out there. Distilling the best ideas and essence of grunge and mid 90's alternative rock into new forms circa 2018 wasn't what I was expecting in this particular era we live in, but they pull it off with a surprising dose of that oh-so-rare thing in an LP experience: variety.

Opener 'Fascination' is a groovy early Alice In Chains meets Zeppelin barnstormer, but when they turn up the tempo on 'Veins' you see more of their range. Puts me right back into my favorite era of radio-oriented rock and nothing gets to my sweet spot faster than some nostalgia criss-crossed with above average (and even excellent) songwriting. 'El Lazo' is probably my favorite cut overall, featuring a soaring hook and smile-inducding melodic progression straight out of Superunknown-era Soundgraden with a touch of Vertical Horizon.

For those of you that appreciate some of the 90's, this will induce some fuzzies. The rest of you might like it too!