IN BROAD DAYLIGHT

Review by Ash Simone · CD Baby, 2016

━━━━

The blinding image that illuminates the front cover tells you immediately: Gregg Burns is out to make a statement. His new release, In Broad Daylight, is a super tight, 6-song collection that boldly delivers on that promise.

Appropriately, the album opens with Burns’s distinctive voice standing front and center, unadorned and unaccompanied, as if to fire a warning salvo: HERE I AM. Heavy, chopped-up guitars peal in to drive “Aluminum,” the soaring vocal and concert-size choruses deftly tempered with a clever balance of acoustic, orchestral, and electronic influences.

“Pretty Young Thing” follows, an unabashed and thoroughly unapologetic tip of the hat to the sexy swagger of the 70s and a host of that era’s seminal rock bands. The recipe for success here is equal parts Robin Trower, Grand Funk, Edgar Winter, and Thin Lizzy, with a splash or three of Pat Travers, classic ZZ Top, and the Dixie Dregs all added in for good measure and simmered to a rollicking boil.

Burns opens up the throttle further on “I See,” hitting full stride lyrically as he poses the question, “Did I save myself from me?” then defiantly responds with snarling guitar. The eerie, moody “Justified” is a tour de force, a bluesy mix of interweaving guitars and keyboards which set the table for Burns’s soulful vocal.

“Dandelion” is the perfect closer here, with a freight-train drum beat and a ferocious guitar hook to keep pace with the top-down chorus. And for all this, on an album full of strong and diverse material, “Anybody” might be the little gem that shines brightest. At 2:49, it’s the shortest of the set, but when the stripped-down-yet-still-slick acoustic guitars and impossibly tasty layers of percussion eventually give way to a powerhouse chorus, one is left with the exhilarating feeling of having handed the keys over to truly enjoy the ride.

In Broad Daylight is a well-built, well-paced EP, and a rousing reaffirmation of intense guitar-driven rock, further amplified by drummer/percussionist Eric Hurwit’s standout performances. If it suffers, it’s only from ending just a little too soon, when one’s only recourse is to reach out and hit “REPEAT.” And that may be the “statement” Burns intended all along.

Awards & Recognition

In Broad Daylight earned a nomination for Best Hard Rock Album from Just Plain Folks (2017), the world’s largest independent music organization. The awards drew from more than 240,000 songs and over 17,000 albums, reflecting the scope of the global independent music community.

Three tracks from the album—“Aluminum,” “I See,” and “Pretty Young Thing”—were also nominated for Best Hard Rock Song, highlighting the record’s depth and consistency.

The album nomination marks Burns’s second recognition in the category, following a win for Head in 2003.