Second Season

hen it comes to describing Halfway to Gone's potent blend of stoner, Southern, and classic rock, the whiskey bottle-clutching 400-pound gorilla on the cover of their sophomore Second Season album really does say it all. Picking up right where their 2001 debut High Five left off, this second helping finds the New Jersey-based trio cranking out a surprisingly hook-laden, high-energy set of tunes. Boasting a confidence and swagger usually reserved for more experienced bands, Halfway to Gone are equally adept at handling pulverizing rockers ("Already Gone," "Escape from Earth"), quasi-doom metal workouts ("Lone Star Breakout," "Never Comin' Home"), and laid-back instrumental blues numbers like "Outta Smokes" and "Black Coffy" (spelling ain't these boys' strong suit). Cooked up with a few choice ingredients from each of these styles, the awesome "Whiskey Train" easily takes the cake as the album's strongest cut, but additional hot moments arrive via ballsy opener "Great American Scumbag" and yet another excellent instrumental in "Brocktoon's Wake," which also features harp contributions from Five Horse Johnson front man Eric Oblander. Truly an inspired outing, Second Season is going to be a tough act to follow. ~ Eduardo Rivadavia|