Kris Heaton Band
World Gone Mad
(Kris Heaton Band)

Kris Heaton Band’s new dozen song album World Gone Mad, opens with the mid-tempo rocker, “Who Let the Bullets Fly.” With a tight snare and power chords pushing, we get a tune with a sing-able hum and introspective lyrics of real substance. The roiling title track follows with a strong key line covering some of the same lyrical ground. There is an expert layering of the instrumentals in both songs that plays well throughout the entire album.

The jangle of “When the Sun Goes Down” informs a solid pop love ballad. The sweet opening with a hint of harmonica in the mix (which makes itself heard later) makes for one of the best on the album. The harmonies, the Springsteen-like layering of keys, deliberate vocals, and solid, strong, non-flashy lead makes this the centerpiece of World Gone Mad (due as much to the song’s placement as its scope).

“Drink to the Girls” is a pure simple rocker, about lust and you, while programmed drums and synthscapes of sound inform the background for “One Thin Line” and “Way of the World,” with the latter having a near gospel sound to the chorus. “Better World,” a prayer of a tune (with a clicking drum backing) and Heaton’s best vocals, ends the album.

Heaton is covering lots of same ground here with his lyrics. It might be a little too much of the same subject across just 12 tunes, but the band pulls this all off with aplomb, and Heaton stands out as a singular voice.