America's Son

The Stillwater, Okla.–based quintet No Justice is one of the few current country-rock bands that isn't trying to re-create the genre’s '70s trappings. The band's fifth full-length album, America’s Son, reveals a band more interested in keeping country-rock relevant than playing through vintage gear while sporting embroidered cowboy shirts, feathered hair, and bellbottoms. The melodic opener, “Never Gonna Be Enough,” is as warm and twangy as anything by The Eagles, but the production here yields a song that could be played on both modern country radio and those classic-rock stations that throw in the occasional new band. Speaking of the airwaves, “Songs on the Radio” works in some sepia-toned reminiscing without succumbing to Mellencampy small-town nostalgia. It’s not until the outstanding “Shot in the Dark” that No Justice reminds us of its knack for making all those old rootsy, red-dirt country tones rock with modern-day relevance. Similarly, the title track is a traveling song with timeless tones, contrasted with a slick studio mix and lyrics that are patriotic without being maudlin.