The JAR is filled with some Friday the 13th goodness. The album dropped August 13th, so I figured let’s be hella timely for a change! Check out the review for the new Blacktop Mojo album!

Amusingly enough, the first song on the album caught my attention in YouTube recommendations because they did a video for Wicked Woman. I wasn’t aware of the band before seeing the video recommendation; and then saw they had an album coming out on August 13^th. So I got intrigued.

In a cool turn of events, they released the full album on YouTube at midnight August 13^th, so I figured I’d do a review that was timely and relevant. As for the setting the table, there doesn’t seem to be a lot of great outlets for information on this band. They were formed in 2012, this seems to be their fourth album and they’re straight out of Texas.

So they bring an interesting fusion of Southern Rock, Classic Rock and Grunge; which helps them stand out from a lot of the other Southern hard rocking groups I’m aware of. Let’s see how this album strikes me as we all get to know Blacktop Mojo!

• Artist: Blacktop Mojo
• Album: Blacktop Mojo (2021)
• Label: Cuhmon Records

As I said in the opening, Wicked Woman, leads things off and sets a fun tone. The video adds a lot of their own personality and comedy, so while the song itself is a great groove driven rock song; their video takes things to a whole new level. If I start referring to Combos as “Ritz crackers pregnant with a cheese baby”, well dammit you know why.

Bed Tundy is next, and it ain’t about no trundle bed with a nickname. We can all figure out the context, but the part that catches me in the first two lines is, “Fill the empty spaces with nefarious activities, I’m being pulled by my felonious proclivities “. That is a great way to open the song, with an Alice in Chains-esque haunting chorus, great driving southern rock guitar and just a groove that will keep you bebopin to a song about Ted Bundy like only 2021 could. Latex is beautifully misleading since it starts off with a little southern fried strumming and a very simple country instrumentation, and then the chorus drives the energy up like an Aerosmith song. It’s such a great song designed around describing someone trying to keep up a facade to change, but fails. The mask being correlated to latex is interesting and hits in a different way than many other analogies.

Rewind starts getting across that this album might’ve been inspired by a break up. As a child of the 90s, this song is great imagery. Talking about rewinding the tape back to how it was before. Simple lines like “the song don’t sound the same anymore” work well in a heavy guitar driven belt of a song. Not angry, but sounds more pleading, and even the guitar tone sets a wonderful atmosphere. Almost as to confirm suspicions Jealousy, is the anger aspect of the break up one can expect. I really enjoy how these songs build on different stages of grief where now the perspective of the song is jealous, angry and the symbol crashes, blaring guitar and more stressed vocals is wonderful. Another great line being “I’m drinking poison hoping that they’ll choke”.

Make Believe is a short roughly 80 second interlude that just talks about murdering the other guy in his dreams. Definitely more poignant in the order of the album. Darlin’ I Won’t Tell is wonderful. Even though the prospective cheater ruined the relationship, he just wants them to come clean. He’s pleading, frustrated and again, the instrumentation had great loud bass drum kicks, clashing fills, almost to mimic a verbal argument and the bass drum being the loud heartbeat. Just tonally everything about these songs help to get across the emotion. Do It For the Money is interesting. It’s wonderfully spiteful, where the singer is almost taunting the person in the song. Getting across the betrayer did it for the money, but apparently got screwed over. There’s a level of pettiness, and I love the gospel choir in the background echoing lines from the chorus. It comes off like one of the Jesus Christ Superstar song that mocks Judas.

Well this is an unexpected turn, Hold Me Down gives big Every Rose Has Its Thorn vibes, but it also flips the narrative on the perspective of the breakup songs so. Coming off of how spiteful the last song was, this one being the singer almost begging to have a reason to stay is interesting. The music accompanies the tone in a beautiful way, the guitar tone and solo stay within the “crying” vibe and it’s a wonderful song; just didn’t really expect the lyrics to take this turn.

Cough is a simple song about the pandemic and breaks up the onslaught of romantic turmoil songs. There’s a great sludgy southern groove in this that reminds me of Black Water Rising and I really dig the simplicity. And there’s something kind of wholesome and yet sad in the line of “if I get sick, will you still be my friend”. In a world where political leanings have ruined families and friendships, I wouldn’t be surprised if getting sick evoked a similar reaction from some. Stratus Melancholia jumps back on the end of relationship theme! But this is despair, the song sounds hollow, there’s moments where the instrumentation drops out and just lets the singer wail into microphone, and again, they nail the emotion with surgeon like precision.

An aptly named song, we end things on Tail Lights. The open is stripped down and the guitar sounds like its weeping, that whole While My Guitar Gently Weeps is an adequate vibe here. Being in denial after a failed relationship, looking for reasons to call, realizing it’s all fading away like tail lights in the distance. Musically it’s one of their most “these guys are totally from the south” sounding songs, but that doesn’t take away from the masterful way the lyrics, instrumentation and the lead singer’s voice always seem to express the emotions perfectly.

IF I were to find anything negative about this album, it’s a little too filled with breakup songs. Now they are all done beautifully. Let’s give credit to Matt James’ amazing singing, Ryan Kiefer’s great guitar work and Nathan Gillis knowing how to complement every song perfectly behind the kit. But unless you’re going through some stuff, this isn’t necessarily a cruising album that you just play when you’re out with the boys. However, the fact I had no knowledge of this band prior, this was an awesome album to get exposed to a great newer Hard Rock band.

Yes nothing is ground breaking, but the musicianship that goes into making everything fit so well is something I don’t usually see outside of Progressive Metal.

Final Judgment: 8.75/10