{"id":9888,"date":"2026-04-01T11:49:15","date_gmt":"2026-04-01T11:49:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/musictechohio.online\/site\/the-long-ryders-high-noon-hymns-reviewed-paisley-underground-veterans-continue-their-remarkable-second-act-153945\/"},"modified":"2026-04-01T11:49:15","modified_gmt":"2026-04-01T11:49:15","slug":"the-long-ryders-high-noon-hymns-reviewed-paisley-underground-veterans-continue-their-remarkable-second-act-153945","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/musictechohio.online\/site\/the-long-ryders-high-noon-hymns-reviewed-paisley-underground-veterans-continue-their-remarkable-second-act-153945\/","title":{"rendered":"The Long Ryders\u2019 High Noon Hymns reviewed: Paisley Underground veterans continue their remarkable second act"},"content":{"rendered":"
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2023\u2019s autumnal September November<\/em> appeared to put the seal on The Long Ryders\u2019 late-career comeback, one that had begun four years earlier with Psychedelic Country Soul<\/em>, their first new studio album in over 30 years. Here were the forefathers of alt.country, peeling back time and reclaiming their turf in some style, despite the recent loss of beloved longstanding bassist Tom Stevens. But they clearly weren\u2019t done. High Noon Hymns<\/em> is a further testament to their enduring power, an assured roots-rock synthesis of American mores that draws deep from lived experience.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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2023\u2019s autumnal September November<\/em> appeared to put the seal on The Long Ryders\u2019 late-career comeback, one that had begun four years earlier with Psychedelic Country Soul<\/em>, their first new studio album in over 30 years. Here were the forefathers of alt.country, peeling back time and reclaiming their turf in some style, despite the recent loss of beloved longstanding bassist Tom Stevens. But they clearly weren\u2019t done. High Noon Hymns<\/em> is a further testament to their enduring power, an assured roots-rock synthesis of American mores that draws deep from lived experience.<\/p>\n

Continuity seems to be key to the band\u2019s core trio of Sid Griffin, Stephen McCarthy and Greg Sowders. Regular producer Ed Stasium returns, as do Old 97\u2019s mainstay Murry Hammond on bass and X percussionist DJ Bonebrake, reprising their duties from September November<\/em>. The songs themselves range from ringing country-rockers to soulful ballads and varying shades between, thematically weighted between reflection and renewal. \u201cA Hymn For The City Of Angels\u201d, for instance, finds Kentucky native Griffin paying tender tribute to Los Angeles, scene of his formative musical days in the late \u201970s: \u201cHome to all those dreamers, drifters and the aged\/Young in all their colours\u2026\u201d Similarly, \u201cHow Do You Want To Be Loved?\u201d traces a romantic journey from youthful soundtracks of The Go-Go\u2019s and the Stones to the present, the fire still glowing despite being \u201cnot as young as we used to be.\u201d<\/p>\n

But High Noon Hymns<\/em> also faces forward. Griffin\u2019s \u201cFour Winters Away\u201d proposes a toast to the future, one where the current incumbent of the White House is consigned to history, leaving the rest blessing their luck and counting his sins. McCarthy\u2019s midtempo \u201cWorld Without Fear\u201d takes a broader view of societal ills (\u201cIt takes a lot of love in a weary world\u201d), underscored by the snapping, scornful \u201cDown To The Well\u201d. But it\u2019s the album\u2019s sole cover, a full-hearted version of Dylan\u2019s \u201cForever Young\u201d, that perhaps embodies the album\u2019s indomitable spirit and righteous vigour.<\/p>\n

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