Lean Forward

Although it looks easy from the outside, rock bands demand an unshakable perseverance and a Zen-like appreciation for the journey. And while he’s always had the first, it’s clear with this album that Rocket’s singer/guitarist Brian Henneman is growing to enjoy the ride for its own sake. An offshoot of Uncle Tupelo and also Wilco, which Henneman joined for their debut A.M., the Rockets have been through a series of personnel changes, label mishaps and general bad luck that would have forced most bands to the curb. But Henneman remains behind the wheel, barreling down the highway, making the same solid, hard-edged, slightly twangy, roots rock he’s never left. In the opener, “The Long Way,” the roadtrip-as-life metaphor mixes perfectly with the driving guitar- rock edge. On “Shame On Me,” he sings to toothsome ‘70’s riff-rock that splits the difference between the Stones and John Mellencamp. The Bo Diddley beat gets a visit on another on-the-road song “Nothin But A Driver” and “The Way It Used to Be,” a timeless, full-bore, guitar bash that like the rest of this set emphasizes rock over roots.