Tuk Smith & the Restless Hearts Rogue To Redemption (Silver)

Tuk Smith is the kind of rock'n'roll ambassador you didn't think existed anymore. Punk maverick from rural Georgia, Biters frontman, producer and solo artist, he's seen the best and worst of a music industry in constant flux. By turns it's left him critically acclaimed, poised for stadiums, dropped, burned out, back in the game and beloved by those for whom rock is still everything. Now based in Nashville, and with his own label Gypsy Rose Records, he creates from a more real place than most. "I want to do something that means something to people," Tuk says, "because a lot of shit nowadays is so disposable and so plastic. I just don't connect with that. I'd like to do things that impact people positively. It's a weird time on the planet, so to have songs about hope, but not be cheesy about it, it's something I think we need with songwriting. That's the kind of music I want to hear." The result is Rogue To Redemption, Tuk's second album with solo project The Restless Hearts. The sonic lovechild of Thin Lizzy, 90s power pop and melody-driven punk, it shows an artistic peak born from adversity. The sound of a man bottling a lifetime of experiences, stories and characters from working class America. A hero's journey, picking up from 2022's Ballad Of A Misspent Youth. Produced by Tuk and mixed by Chris Dugan (Green Day, Iggy Pop, U2), Rogue To Redemption was written over the last three years but recorded down to the wire - right up to the summer of 2024. Joined by long-term Restless Hearts compadres, drummer Nigel Dupree and bassist Matthew 'Ponyboy' Curtis, he cut the bulk of it at home. The melodic powerpop and punk likes of Jellyfish, Material Issue, Generation X and Buzzcocks filtered into his writing, complimenting the 70s richness that's long permeated his work. You'll hear it in Take The Long Way, the album's rollicking yet deeply personal opener, an ode to persistence in the face of self-sabotage, Lyrically, inspired by storytellers like Tom Petty, Phil Lynott and Bruce Springsteen, Rogue To Redemption comprises a Born To Run-esque series of vignettes - observation sprinkled with Tuk's own experience. Right now Tuk's wild days are behind him, replaced with "workaholic" hours in front of ProTools, producing other bands and running his label. But that old tearaway streak - the fire that makes him such a commanding prospect - lives on in anthems like End Of An Era. A bittersweet "drunken sing-along" with shades of Oasis and glam rock glitter, it could be read as a meditation on the changing rock landscape, the wider world, or even a relationship. If you crave rock'n'roll with substance, an edge, 21st century eyes and an old soul's heart - you've come to the right place.