Brother Cane – Magnolia Medicine

BROTHER CANE
Magnolia Medicine
Double Dragon Records
Rating: 9 out of 10


Good things come to those who wait, the saying goes. And while there's no guarantee that the longer you wait the higher the payoff, it's still wise for a band who takes a 28-year break between albums to make sure their return doesn't fall flat.

Thankfully, BROTHER CANE's fourth album "Magnolia Medicine" — the Southern hard rock group's first full-length since "Wishpool" was released two years before Bill Clinton left office — qualifies as a good thing. In fact, it's a very good thing, and arguably a great one. And while it doesn't quite recapture the lightning-in-a-bottle spark that made the band's 1993 self-titled debut one of American rock's brightest moments of the decade in which it was released, it deftly builds on that album's foundation and sounds like its logical successor, a love letter to classic rock that completely rebuffs modern trends and celebrates the spirit that inspires someone to pick up a guitar in the first place. Think of it like "Back To The Future" in reverse, rather than Marty McFly shredding '80s licks before an unprepared Hill Valley High audience in 1955, he instead jumps decades ahead with his Eddie Van Halen cassette to help make rock great again.

For the uninitiated, BROTHER CANE — who scored multiple hits at U.S. active rock radio during the 1990s, including two songs ("And Fools Shine On" and "I Lie In The Bed I Made") that reached No. 1 on Billboard's Mainstream Rock Tracks chart — was co-founded by singer / guitarist Damon Johnson, who has quietly developed one of rock's great resumes. After the band disbanded in the late '90s, Johnson went on to play with the likes of ALICE COOPER, THIN LIZZY / BLACK STAR RIDERS and, most recently, LYNYRD SKYNYRD. He's also jammed with DAMN YANKEES, written with Sammy Hagar and even co-wrote a SANTANA track sung by Steven Tyler.

A recent press release said that while touring with SKYNYRD (a group he initially joined on a temporary basis in 2021),Johnson was "pleasantly surprised at how many fans not only remembered BROTHER CANE, but shared their stories on how much the band and [their] songs meant to them." From there, the seeds were planted for a reunion, and after touring to celebrate the 30th anniversary of their debut, the band released two excellent new songs, both of which now get a second lease on life on "Magnolia Medicine".

The album opens with five songs' worth of fresh material, though, and each sounds like its own unique chapter of FM radio rock. Powerhouse opener "If This Means War" begins with a speaker-rattling riff — that is, genuine ringing power chords, not a palm-muted open-note chugfest — serving as a de facto warning that the record might lead to carpal tunnel syndrome from all of the air-guitaring it will inspire. "Take A Chance" is similarly built around a guitar riff, and its final two minutes, which harks back to the adventurous jams of classic Southern rock groups, seem like an outright celebration of the instrument.

The next three songs couldn't be more different on paper, but taken together, they show how BROTHER CANE has grown since 1993. "Nothing To Lose" is a power-pop gem that would surely top radio playlists in a parallel universe where no one discovered how teen spirit smelled; "The Wolf On The Mountain" initially sounds like a moody callback to the band's mid-'90s "Seeds"-era, but again, its final two minutes are exhilarating; and "Prince Charming", a tribute to late SKYNYRD guitarist Gary Rossington featuring guest appearances by that band's vocalist Johnny Van Zant and guitarist Rickey Medlocke, is a moving ballad that wouldn't sound nearly as convincing being delivered by someone who's logged fewer miles.

Side B opens with the previously released "Blinded By The Sun", probably the most straightforward hard rock song on the album. Featuring a riff that would make Malcolm proud and a cowbell-driven rhythm, the track serves as a callback of sorts to "Got No Shame", the barnburner that opens the band's 1993 debut. From there, "Magnolia Medicine" gets trippy, but avoids tripping up. The bouncy, organ-drenched "Wish You Well" sounds like Petty circa "Into The Great Wide Open"; "Your Cross To Bear"'s guitar harmonies pay homage to THE ALLMAN BROTHERS BAND; and "Miracle" features spoken-word verses that might seem curious at first, but which pave the way effectively to one of the album's most well-crafted choruses.

Penultimate track "Out Of My Head" is the kind of song that manages to feel familiar the first time you've heard it, but without seeming overtly pastiche. As for the album-closing "Are You In There Anymore", there aren't enough superlatives in the thesaurus. It's simply the best THIN LIZZY song you've never heard, given its epic guitar harmonies and Lynott-like cadence, and its inclusion and placement here illustrate a clear through-line of Johnson's musical travels over the past three decades. "I guess all good things must come to an end," he sings at the beginning of the song's final verse. That's OK, just as long as we don't have to wait another 28 years for the next serving.