WAYWARD SONS – Ghosts Of Yet To Come [Japan Edition +1] *EXCLUSIVE*

“Ghosts Of Yet To Come” is the debut album from WAYWARD SONS, and this Japanese edition which never surfaced the internet before is of special interest as it includes the non-album track ‘Backslide’ as bonus.
Wayward Sons was founded by singer, songwriter, guitarist, and producer Toby Jepson. You may recall him as the vocalist for UK’s Little Angels and the Scottish band Gun. As a producer Jepson has worked with The Answer, Saxon, and Fastway, among others.

The Wayward Sons should be considered a super-group as include into the line-up some seasoned vets. Drummer Phil Martini was in the vastly underrated Tokyo Dragons, The Quireboys and The Union, bass man Nic Wastell was in Chrome Molly and keyboard player Dave Kemp is a long-standing cohort of Jepson in Little Angels.
Arguably though it is Sam Wood, the relatively unknown guitarist in Treason Kings that steals the show.
This is riff heavy classic hard rock and it is played superbly,

The clue to “The Ghosts Of Yet To Come” is the name of the band. It might, of course, be just a cool moniker. But it isn’t. It represents so much more. For Jepson to name his new band after the breakthrough hit that his first had, well, it just seems like a statement.
It seems like this is Jepson going back to full on rock ‘n roll for the first time in a while. The eleven songs it contains prove that beyond all doubt.

This album swaggers in with a mighty groove as if it has a point to prove. There is an urgency in the lyrics of “Alive” too, as if everyone realises that it is now or never. “No one’s getting out of here alive” is the pay-off line, but it is too, perhaps the reason the album is so charged up.
“Until The End” has a mighty hook and shows the singer returning to something approaching his earlier vocal style, but also the lyrical theme of working-class struggle that he always loved.

There is a touch of Thin Lizzy at their most metal Cold Gin end about the wonderful “Ghost”, and the dirty bass groove that ushers in “I Don’t Wanna Go” is that of confident, classy hard rock.
It is impossible not to listen to these songs and – rightly or wrongly – imagine the Little Angels at the top of their game. “Give It Away” doesn’t even try to hide those links, while “Killing Time” is too busy with stadium filling intentions to care.

An album with plenty of sonic diversions, it doesn’t do ballads, but if it had one, “Crush” would be it. Radio friendly and quite modern, it does the mid-paced thing marvelously, while “Be Still” shows their flexibility with a kind of Northern English take on ‘Someday I’ll Be Saturday Night’ (“I flashed the cash and got me some”) it is a brilliantly catchy – and yet real life track.
That was always the thing about Toby Jepson. He was never a rock star that felt untouchable.
He was a rock singer that was almost representing us on stage. As it finishes with the bluesy “Something’s Wrong”, the debut album of Wayward Sons “Ghosts Of Yet To Come” sees him right back doing that.

Japanese bonus track “Backslide” really worth the purchase, it’s a groovy hard rocker driven by a dirty guitar riff and sporting an infectious chorus.

The best thing Jepson has done in 20 years, Wayward Sons “Ghosts Of Yet To Come” was without a doubt one of the finest British hard rock albums of 2017.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

01 – Alive
02 – Until the End
03 – Ghost
04 – Don’t Wanna Go
05 – Give It Away
06 – Killing Time
07 – Crush
08 – Be Still
09 – Small Talk
10 – Something Wrong
JAPAN BONUS TRACK:
11 – Backslide

Toby Jepson (Vocals, Guitar)
Sam Wood (Guitar)
Nic Wastell (Bass)
Dave Kemp (Keyboards)
Phil Martini (Drums)

BUY IT
www.cdjapan.co.jp/product/KICP-1865