Well, well, well… I must admit I haven’t listened to Denmark’s Junkyard Drive since they released their spirited debut, Sin and Tonic, way back in 2017. And whilst I wasn’t totally blown away by that record, I did mention in my review that there seemed to be a hell of a lot of potential lurking within the band’s youthful piss n’vinegar approach to life.

Seven years later – and not wishing to blow my own trumpet too much – it looks like I was right. Because Look At Me Now is a stomping, snorting, stunner of an album, oozing with class and great tunes. Clever me!

The band are different now, but sometimes the painful shedding of members is the only way to get to where you need to be, and it certainly sounds like the band have found home with this lineup. Vocalist Kris has gone from being a good belter out of songs to providing some of the best balls-out hard rock vocalisation you’ll hear all year, whilst guitarists Oliver Hartmann and Kristoffer Kristensen offer up a no-holds barred lead and rhythm masterclass that you’ll only really understand if you sit down and have a listen – no mere words from yours truly can really convey just how good some of the playing is here!

In simple terms, if you ain’t up and out of your chair and bouncing round the room like a loon as soon as Shoot From The Hip comes booming outta the speakers then, possibly, this whole music thing isn’t for you. And then there’s the slow burning grandeur of Saw You Hanging There, wherein the band show just how much they’ve matured as songwriters since last I made contact with them. And if this isn’t all enough on it’s own, they have the temerity to throw in a closing track, Afterglow, that wouldn’t be out of place on country/pop radio. It’s a s great as it is surprising, but I guess that’s Junkyard Drive in 2024 down to a tee…

Look At Me Now Is Out Now.