THE ANNOUNCEMENT
Rival Sons are back in the studio chasing the sound that made them dangerous in the first place — raw, fast, and recorded before anyone has time to overthink it *. Drummer Mike Miley says the new album aims to strip away the polish of their COVID-era releases and get back to the three-week blitz approach that produced Pressure & Time *. There's a tentative 2027 release window, but the band has only completed one session so far and plans to work in week-long chunks instead of marathon stretches *.
THE DETAILS
- One recording session complete with more planned in week-long blocks rather than extended studio runs *
- Tentative 2027 release date — still early in the process *
- Miley wants the album "more raw and instinctual" compared to Darkfighter and Lightbringer, which were written remotely during COVID lockdowns *
- Early Rival Sons records like their first EP were made in a week; Before The Fire took three weeks; Pressure & Time was written, recorded, mixed and mastered in under a month *
- Singer Jay Buchanan calls it "a black T-shirt record" and wants to return to a "sweaty, small stage, high-energy sound" *
- Studio plans were delayed in early 2026 after Buchanan's wife received a breast cancer diagnosis in December 2025 *
- Producer Dave Cobb remains involved — this will be their tenth album together *
WHY IT MATTERS
COMEBACK — After two albums that stretched their sound into unfamiliar territory during lockdown isolation, Rival Sons are deliberately reversing course and betting that speed and instinct matter more than ambition *. The fact that they've only finished one session and are already talking about 2027 suggests they're serious about not forcing it, which is either admirable restraint or a warning that this album might take longer than the three weeks that used to be standard.