Jared James Nichols earns his keep as a blues-rock guitarist. His new album, Louder Than Fate, released June 5, 2026 on Frontiers Music, reveals an artist who is growing more comfortable that the guitar does not always need to be forefront on every song. This ten-track, roughly 36-minute recording still features Nichols’ hefty riffing and dynamically varied blues bends and phrasings, which hooked me the first time I heard him on Highwayman (2015) EP on Bandcamp. The blues are joined by Southern rock, country, acoustic strumming, keyboard textures, and string arrangements, all generating a collective music listening trip.
“Let’s Go” begins with a dense, modern hard-rock riff and a tight rhythm section, Nichols exercising restraint on the verses before unspooling a bluesy, bend-heavy guitar solo, very cool opening. “Ghost” immediately drops back to a slower tempo, settling into a moody Southern-blues groove in which repeating guitar riffs (could lessen just a bit) and a more restrained vocal delivery lend the track its atmosphere. The third song “Way Back” mixes blues, country, and Southern rock with an uncomplicated riff and expanded enthusiastic chorus to affirm that Nichols willing to explore the typical blues boundaries.
“Bending Or Breaking,” begins with an acoustic guitar Nichols is emotionally direct in his singing, while the eventual lead guitar is sustained and psychedelic groove takes over the latter half of the track. “Killing Time,” the album’s longest track, starting with a subdued guitar and vocals give way; reminds me of Eagles’ Hotel California in the beginning while including the strings and a lengthy emotional, in which Nichols again uses his guitar solo, for an effective performance. “Dust N’ Bones” returns a very aggressive blues rock, driven by a swaggering rhythm section and rougher vocal delivery, welcome relief from the slower material.
Nicholas lets the seventh track “Show Me” use the bass and drums to shine in early portion developing this very cool slow groove before he weaves his guitar solo that brings song to a good listening height. “Looks Like That Felt Good” returns the album to hard-rock, its simple and direct, sometimes that is all a song needs to be, not flooded with complex riffs. “Runnin’ Hot” uses a powerful throwback 1970s-rocking groove, cleating hearing the bass and drums, to a low-key bluesy guitar work. I really like it!
The last and shortest song of the album is “Pretend” with the drums kicking off, absolutely a heavier tone and vulnerable lyrical content offsets the aggressive and assertive musicianship. Highly effective.
Track Listing:
- Let’s Go
- Ghost
- Way Back
- Bending Or Breaking
- Killing Time
- Dust N’ Bones
- Show Me
- Looks Like That Felt Good
- Runnin’ Hot
- Pretend
Band Members:
Jared James Nichols – Lead vocals, electric and acoustic guitars
Brian Weaver – Bass
Ryan Rice – Drum
Nichols’ guitar work is given considerable weight. However, the bass and drums from the talents of Weaver and Rice generate a lot of up-tempo moments but also not to push the central core of the listening pleasure for fans. The arrangements give the album its live-onstage feel without sounding overly nostalgic or too bombastic.
Louder Than Fate is not a move away from Nichols’ blues-rock roots, they support the heavier tracks retain that swagger and the quieter material suggests that he is growing as a songwriter who is comfortable with restraint; an important and powerful lesson. Not all of the songs are as fully realized, and “Pretend” feels hurried not fully developed most rock bands likely driven in the direction of punk, however Jared strived in a different path, allowing a brief emotional impact to support the track.
Band Links:
https://www.jaredjamesnichols.com/
https://www.instagram.com/jaredjamesnichols/
https://www.facebook.com/Jaredjamesnichols/
https://jaredjamesnichols.bandcamp.com/
Label Links:
Vincent’s Rating: 4.5/5.0
