Jailbreak, Joe

It's everything, this sweaty ode to masculinity, this testosterone-fueled blues rock workout, this aging classic rock sound that has aged incredibly well, it's everything, it's every beer you've ever had, it's every night you've spent on the town with your mates, it's everything, it's dumb too, it's dumb because we are, the boys who get drunk on weekends, it's the feeling you get when everything goes right, it's everything, it's a privilege too, that feeling, it's good to feel good, it's important to remember that not everyone can feel that way, it's everything, getting out there, feeling alive, feeling free, it's everything, it's a hard rock guitar riff, it's the strut, it's the swagger, it's motherfucking everything, it's being back, back from where you might ask, it doesn't matter, it's the idea of a return, of a welcoming, it's feeling like you belong, it's knowing you run this shit, it's everything, it's your friends, it's the clinking of bottles, it's the reminiscing, it's the good times behind, it's the good times ahead, it's everything, it's the idea that "tonight there's gonna be trouble," it's the perverse truth that "trouble" can be good, on occasion, depending on who you are, it's the idea that you can feel at home in your home and also away from your home, it's the fact that I don't necessarily think they were upset, wherever they were, prior to returning, it's more that they can make peace wherever they are, and this place, this place now, this is where it's at, the feeling, the drinks flowing and the blood spilling, doesn't matter what bar (or what grill), what matters is that we're here, not there, it's everything, including the irony that this feels like poignancy, this idea of returning, even as I sit on a plane headed toward a city I've never been to, it's more of a return to that feeling though, it's returning to the bullshitting and the ball-busting of times prior, here, on this flight, and when we land, two beers deep, ready to play favorite songs out of jukeboxes, and it's everything, but it's also temporary, and that's understood by all involved, and expectations are tempered by this fact, that it'd be irresponsible to visit Dino's and Johnny's too often, that this is a brief reprieve from the hustle and bustle, that it's everything, but also it's not like we don't have anything to come home to, it's everything—home, that's everything, that's the true return, after the drinks flow and blood spills, returning home, true home, that's everything and that's true peace and happiness, and so it's really just about finding yourself wherever you happen to be, these songs, that's everything, it's finding yourself in a pint and it's finding yourself in your loved ones (boys or otherwise) and it's finding yourself in a rock 'n' roll song, this collection of rock tunes, it's goddamn everything, it's male-oriented, sure, and it's true that I feel male, and it's true that I might push back against the idea if any of this was toxic, and it's true that maybe someone will try to make that argument regarding this album, and it's not something I'll fight too hard against, but it's everything and it's not, it's everything so that means it's innocent, it's occasionally dismissive and occasionally has a narrow point of view, but it knows its audience, and that audience is me, us, we, the boys, and we're back, and we're gonna flow some drinks and spill a little blood, and we're gonna, like, have tough guy fantasies about being a cowboy or sensitive daydreams about being a lovesick Romeo or laugh hard when some chick slaps Dwyer's Johnny's face, it's everything and so it's simple, this rock music, it's as simple as happiness, which occasionally is not simple at all, but you get it you get it you get it: it's everything, and it's nothing, and it's the echoes that reverberate down the tunnels of time, and if it's everything, then it's you too, and you can hear it sometimes, if you stop and listen for a moment, or for a weekend, or for a lifetime, and you'll hear it forever, the guitar riffs, the boys who are back, because the nights are getting longer, summer is almost here, and it's time, it's time, and it's everything.

—Written on the tombstone of those who crashed somewhere over the great midwestern plains on their way to destinations unknown

GRADE: 4.5 pukes out of 5