The new Mike Campbell & The Dirty Knobs release, External Combustion, is perfect for lovers of classic and modern rock alike. Campbell and the Knobs demonstrate mastery of rock for all ages, with something everyone in your group is bound to love.
External Combustion is a truly phenomenal collection of tracks. I would even be bold enough to say that it’s one of the best if not the best rock album you’ll see released this year, but then again, I may be a little biased. As a hardcore Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers fan, I believe that Mike Campbell can do no wrong, and he and the unbelievably talented Dirty Knobs have put out a no-skips record that I will never stop talking about. Let me take you track-by-track.
They throw you right in with “Wicked Mind” as the album opener, a blast of pure, hard-hitting rock ‘n’ roll that I still can’t stop singing the praises of since this track dropped back in February. “Wicked Mind” hits you smooth in the face and gives you the perfect taste of what’s to come in this 45-minute rock journey. Perfectly snappy and jangly, it’s just a fun listen and it entices the listener to stick around a while and jam.
The Dirty Knobs waste no time demonstrating their range as players as they jump into the next track. “Brigitte Bardot” follows a bluesy formula, with the repetition and chord structure you’d expect from your favorite old blues tunes, but delivers it in an upbeat, rockabilly-tinged package. It’s an interesting love song, comparing the love interest to a 50s and 60s sex symbol, but perhaps that’s what makes it unique. However the person being courted by this track feels about the comparison, there’s no denying that it’s catchy.
Like a sonic slap in the face, the album transitions into “Cheap Talk,” arguably my favorite track on External Combustion. With the use of strings and backward masking, I immediately found the track to be reminiscent of Electric Light Orchestra, like the most perfect mix of their 70s stuff and 2001’s Zoom (my ELO fans out there will know exactly what I mean). It’s haunting in a way, and a bit more heavy and progressive than I might have expected to hear on this record, but it doesn’t sound a bit out of place. The Dirty Knobs have range, and they show it every chance they get.
Expanding on that progressive vibe, the title track takes things in a different direction, away from the strings and more toward a dirty, Southern blues-rock sound. I find it to be very reminiscent of Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers’ Mojo. Sonically, they took the title very seriously when crafting this track. The verses build brilliantly into this intense chorus that shakes you up and hits you hard in a perfectly disastrous way. It demands to be listened to loud.
To pull you out of the rubble, they ditch the prog elements and launch into a raw rocker. “Dirty Job” is hard-hitting, borderline grungy, and sonically satisfying, featuring vocals from the legendary Ian Hunter of Mott the Hoople fame. This was a combination I can’t say I expected, but now that I’ve heard it I can’t quite figure out how I ever lived without it. I keep going back to this one and I can’t get over how perfectly placed into the record it is.
As a self-proclaimed Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers superfan, “State of Mind” hit me hard. Campbell’s voice is so much like Petty’s here that it took me by surprise when he started singing. The track also features singer/songwriter Margo Price who blends beautifully with Campbell. With the brilliant use of strings and horn sounds, “State of Mind” would fit right in on Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers’ Southern Accents; it’s like rock and classic country had a baby. I find it to be the most beautiful song on the album.
Getting you back up on your feet is “Lightning Boogie,” and this track is a bit deceptive. With an opening guitar riff that mimics the one at the beginning of Autograph’s “Turn Up the Radio,” you think you’re about to be sent to the 80s rock stratosphere, but instead the Knobs launch into a rock ‘n’ roll, ragtime, boogie woogie extravaganza that would get even the grumpiest person in the room on their feet. If it hasn’t already been emphasized enough: This. Band. Has. Range. And they aren’t afraid to use it.
Transitioning back into the southern-tinged rock you’d expect from a band fronted by a Floridian, “Rat City” is a sonically satisfying rock masterpiece. The track is perfectly balanced, and eases up on its driving heaviness, maintaining the listener’s interest with a jangly acoustic final verse, before diving back into the train-like sound that characterizes the track. Vocally, I can’t get over how good Campbell sounds on this track. For him to have not been a lead vocalist for the majority of his career, he steps into the role so seamlessly with The Dirty Knobs, and it really shows on this record. You’d think he’d fronted a band as the singer his whole life.
Providing a bit of a break from the head-bobbing jams, “In This Lifetime” is a dark, mellow, and beautifully haunting piece placed perfectly in the record. It sends the message that the ride is slowing down and soon coming to an end in such a satisfying way. One of the greatest tests of a rock band is the quality of their slower songs, and The Dirty Knobs pass with flying colors. This was one of the tracks that surprised me the most and solidified my believe that The Dirty Knobs can do no wrong.
After the haunting beauty of the last track, diving into the bouncy, happy “It Is Written” is just what the listener needs. I think this track is what you get when you mix a Bob Dylan song, a Traveling Wilburys song, an old bluegrass tune, and a long drive in the middle of nowhere on a sunny day. It’s undeniably catchy and perfect for the time we find ourselves living in. “It Is Written” is uplifting without approaching toxic positivity, and that’s something I’ve found myself needing these past few months. It’s a gem of a track.
Finally, bringing the album to a close is easy rocker “Electric Gypsy.” A perfect album closer, “Electric Gypsy” touches on the ever-popular theme of the rock ‘n’ roll vagabond without seeming overdone. It puts you in the boots of the rock ‘n’ roll vagabond himself, evoking desert vibes and feelings of the road. It’s a brilliant track and couldn’t be a better way to bid farewell to one of the best records to come out of 2022 (said it before and I’m sticking with it!).
What more can I say? If this isn’t enough to convince you to go spin this damn record, I don’t know what else to tell you. External Combustion is phenomenal, and if you love rock ‘n’ roll, you’re gonna love it. Go give it a spin, try to prove me wrong.