Brent Cobb Ain't Rocked in a While LP

Buckle up, y'all. Brent Cobb wants to rock.

A master storyteller from small-town Georgia who chronicles Southern life in plain-spoken songs, Cobb's spent much of his six-album career behind the comfort of an acoustic guitar. With a hollow-bodied six-string in-hand, he's blended the time-tested gaps between country, soul and folk-rock with the ease of a clear-minded drive down a two-lane blacktop on a Sunday afternoon.

Now, Cobb's stomping his foot on the gas for Ain't Rocked in a While, a new 10-song album that collects some of his loudest, rowdiest and downright wildest songs to-date. As the album title suggests, he's making up for lost time — and it's a hell of a ride.

Channeling his ear-ringing live show, Ain't Rocked... is the first album from Cobb to be recorded and billed alongside his trusted touring band, The Fixin's. And for Cobb, it marks a return-to-form for an artist who's collaborated with hard-rocking Texas band Whiskey Myers and country-rock favorite The Steel Woods.

"I feel like sometimes when people come to our shows, there might be a disconnect," Cobb said. "People might view me as just a singer-songwriter. You know, sit down and tell 'em a nice, little Southern story. Sing 'em a song. And our live show kinda rocks. Sometimes people are taken aback. I want people to have an album of reference."

Like many who grew up playing music with buddies in garages, Cobb's creative DNA is lined with big-riff rock songs. He remembers being a 13-year-old learning lyrics to AC/DC songs and studying Metallica riffs for his first band, named Blind Ambition, he remembered with a laugh. He cites Black Sabbath as a major influence on Ain't Rocked in a While, as evident on the ambitious title track. Clocking in at nearly five minutes, "Ain't Rocked in a While" introduces listeners to the album by embracing the distorted swagger found in standout Southern rock songs alongside an unfiltered heaviness that wouldn't be out of place on Sabbath's Vol. 4.

For the album, Cobb and The Fixin's relocated to an unlikely destination —Springfield, Missouri. He enlisted longtime collaborator Oran Thornton to co-produce Ain't Rocked…, which the band recorded live to tape on the studio floor.

"It's not that I've never rocked before. Just ain't rocked in a while… Hope you enjoy…"

Brent Cobb is the smooth pimp back porch swing and sweet tea Southern easy breeze for your ears every time his music tickles the air. But you put Brent Cobb on a big stage with an electric band behind him, and that quiet, slow talking, easy going Georgia gentleman turns into a full-tilt Southern rocker cooking with grease.

['Ain't Rocked in a While'] rips and is a strong lead single for what the rest of the record will feature. Turn it all the way up.