Ryan Bingham’s fourth album Tomorrowland is a bit of a return the grungy country music that made him a household name in the Americana community. The new records finds him being a little more hard-edged and breaking of the small rut he had fell into with Roadhouse Sun and Junky Star.

The album starts with a bang with “Beg For Broken Legs” which bursts into a hard rocker in the style of “Bread and Water” from his first album. The dark tone of the album is carried out later with “Guess Who’s Knockin'” breaking into a chorus of “Guess who is knockin’ on the door, Its me mother fucker, I’m knockin’ on the door” The song is delivered as one of Bingham’s harder edged songs of his career. It transitions perfectly into the album’s single “Heart of Rhythm” that is likely far better than any songs you will hear on a typical country station.

The album does drag at points like his last two releases suffered from. The song “Rising of the Ghetto” isn’t bad but it kills the momentum in middle of the album being over 8 minutes long. The album is capped off well with the dirt road bar rocker “Never Ending Show” that displays the rowdy rocking songs that Bingham does best. While Tomorrowland isn’t a great record it is more balanced than his recent work and reminds you why he is one of the most interesting faces in Americana music. This record isn’t a classic but it shows the promise that someday Bingham will deliver one.

Key Tracks: “Beg For Broken Legs” “Guess Who’s Knockin'” “Heart Of Rhythm”