By
Larry Petro,
News Monkey
Tuesday, August 22, 2023 @ 9:37 AM
Out October 20th; Band Shares New Single "Sweet Life"
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Photo Credit: Patrik Skoglow
2x GRAMMY-nominated band RIVAL SONS have announced the release of their new album, LIGHTBRINGER, on October 20th. It notably marks the group's second full-length offering to be unveiled in 2023, following June's companion album DARKFIGHTER. Today, LIGHTBRINGER is available for pre-order/pre-save now [album art/tracklisting below]. The pre-order includes two vinyl variants - Fruit Punch and Lemonade - as well as a CD version.
About LIGHTBRINGER, guitarist Scott Holiday said, "When you do two albums back-to-back like this, there are a lot of things to think about. The first record has to pack enough of a punch and tell enough of a story for the second half to have an even bigger impact. We balanced them out with energy and meaning, but the follow-up always needed to deliver a bigger blow. I think LIGHTBRINGER provides this."
Vocalist Jay Buchanan added, "DARKFIGHTER is a new RIVAL SONS, and LIGHTBRINGER is the clear definition of what we are now. We broke ground on DARKFIGHTER, but LIGHTBRINGER is a step beyond the personal innovation and exploration. It goes a little further. We really took everything into our own hands and pushed to see how far we could go. It was a self-exploration to see who we were and who we'll be now. We had more friction and compromise than ever, because we isolated the bare essence of where we needed to go-and then we went there."
The band set the stage for LIGHTBRINGER with a rollicking, roaring, and righteous new single entitled "Sweet Life" - available on all streaming platforms now. From the jump, a frenetic drumbeat gives way to a rip-roaring riff. Meanwhile, Jay's bluesy wail bounces between a cathartic hook and boogie-down groove as he bemoans, "I've got to shake, shake, shake the bad rhythm for good," shimmying in lockstep with the guitar.
Regarding "Sweet Life", Jay promised, "It's the most old-school Rival Sons song on either of these two records. It has all of the early elements of what RIVAL SONS is and was. It was born out of my love mid-sixties rock like THE ANIMALS, THE KINKS, and the bands I was raised on. It's a bit of a break from all of the heavy subject matter too; it's a barnburner."
RIVAL SONS crafted DARKFIGHTER and LIGHTBRINGER during the same sessions over the course of 2021. Once again, they recorded with creative confidant and longtime producer Dave Cobb behind the board. The band initially dropped DARKFIGHTER to unanimous tastemaker praise earlier this summer. Classic Rock attested, "DARKFIGHTER might just be RIVAL SONS' masterpiece," and GLIDE Magazine enthused, "DARKFIGHTER is a lean hard rock album that condenses what RIVAL SONS does well into a brief attack." At the same time, they have piled up millions of streams across the likes of "Nobody Wants To Die", "Bird in the Hand", "Rapture" and more.
Right now, RIVAL SONS are on the road with THE SMASHING PUMPKINS and will be touring through the end of 2023 with select U.S. headline shows and festival appearances. Check out the full confirmed itinerary below.
In 2021, RIVAL SONS celebrated the 10th anniversary of their 2011 album, Pressure and Time, by performing the landmark long player live in its entirety on the Pressure and Time Tour for the first time. They also lit up Southern California with a two-night livestream event, Rival Sons - "PAIR OF ACES" - Live from the historic Catalina Casino on Santa Catalina Island. They performed their debut LP, Before the Fire [2009], in its entirety on the first night and their self-titled EP, Rival Sons [2010], on the second.
LIGHTBRINGER Tracklist:
"Darkfighter"
"Mercy"
"Redemption"
"Sweet Life"
"Before The Fire"
"Mosaic"
TOUR DATES
8/22 - Charlotte, NC - PNC Music Pavilion+
8/24 - Holmdel, NJ - PNC Bank Arts Center+
8/25 - Gilford, NH - Bank of New Hampshire Pavilion+
8/26 - Montreal, Canada - Theatre Beanfield*
8/27 - Portland, ME - State Theatre*
8/29 - Harrisburg, PA - XL Live*
8/30 - Wantagh, NY - Northwell Health at Jones Beach Theater+
8/31 - Bristow, VA - Jiffy Lube Live+
9/2 - Toronto, Canada - Budweiser Stage+
9/3 - Ottawa, Canada - Canadian Tire Centre+
9/6 - McKees Rocks, PA - Roxian Theatre*
9/7 - Knoxville, TN - The Mill & Mine*
9/8 - Franklin, TN - First Bank Amphitheater+
9/9 - Noblesville, IN - Ruoff Music Center+
9/23 - Clarkston, MI - Riff Fest^
9/25 - Louisville, KY - Louder Than Life 2023^
10/13 - London, UK - The Roundhouse
10/14 - Newcastle, UK - NX
10/16 - Glasgow, UK - Barrowland Ballroom
10/17 - Birmingham, UK - O2 Academy
10/18 - Manchester, UK - Manchester Academy
10/20 - Cambridge, UK - Cambridge Corn Exchange
10/21 - O2 Academy - Bristol, UK (Sold Out)
10/22 - Southampton, UK - O2 Guildhall
10/24 - Nantes, France - La Carriere
10/25 - Lyon, France - Le Radiant
10/27 - Paris, France - Olympia
10/28 - Lausanne, Switzerland - Les Docks
10/29 - Milan, Italy - Alcatraz
10/31 - Vienna, Austria - Gasometer
11/1 - Zurich, Switzerland - X-TRA
11/2 - Munich, Germany - Theaterfabrik
11/4 - Prague, Czech Republic - Lucerna Music Bar
11/5 - Warsaw, Poland - Klub Stodola
11/6 - Poznan, Poland - Music Club B17
11/8 - Berlin, Germany - Huxleys
11/9 - Amsterdam, Netherlands - Melkweg Max (Sold Out)
Right now, RIVAL SONS are on the road with THE SMASHING PUMPKINS and will be touring through the end of 2023 with select U.S. headline shows and festival appearances. Check out the full confirmed itinerary below.