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It’s been a long-held belief around these parts that somebody needs to get Kris Barras over to America and onto one of those humongous festivals like Rocklahoma. 2024’s ‘Halo Effect’ was a huge step in that direction and an album built for international stages. The soon-to-be-released follow-up, ‘Monsters We Made’, takes that thought and ramps it up ten times over.
The slamming title track opens the album (number six for KBB) and is a massive progression from the blues-rock-based early years that brought Barras to many people’s attention with albums like ‘The Divine and Dirty’ (2018) and ‘Light It Up’ (2019). It’s immediate. No faffing around. A thick, modern drum intro from powerhouse Billy Hammett (who sounds like he gets fed raw meat through the bars of a cage), a wailing guitar from Barras, and his trademark full-of-life vocals. Barras will be the first to admit that he is a guitarist who also sings, but his range and delivery have grown considerably over the years, and he seems much more at home now in the role of lead vocalist. The chorus is prime-time modern American rock (a less-rappy Papa Roach?), and the melodies on the short bridge that lands around the one-minute mark are dynamite.
‘Beautiful Lie’ is the current single and is part of a five-single opening salvo that lends some weight to the first half of the album. Hooky, choppy guitars, heavy hits from Hammett, and a guitar solo from Barras that comes out of left field. Progressive in some ways, it’s great to see Barras breaking away from the blues-rock shackles when it comes to his solos. Perfect for American modern rock radio (ditto ‘Alive’, which lands in the second half of the album), where acts like Breaking Benjamin, Sevendust, and, of course, Shinedown reign supreme. Likewise, ‘Unspoken’ is one of those moments that programmers used to salivate over back when they gave a shit. Kind of Def Leppard-meets-Nickelback in places, it has huge potential.
Having five singles one after the other in the running order is a risky move, but ultimately, it is a successful move. ‘Riot of One’ is the big-assed older brother to 2018’s ‘Hail Mary’ and has an utterly scorching solo from Barras as the song fades out. This one will get two thumbs up from his blues-rock fanbase, and is that a reference to Michael Douglas in Falling Down in the video to ‘All Falls Down’? The white shirt and tie? Things going to shit? Anyway, the track slams.
Away from the singles, ‘Otherside’ is sneaking ahead in the race to be the next single. Like a lot of the album before it, it packs a transatlantic punch. More melodic than the majority of the album, it’s easy to see this one ringing out in the amphitheatres of America, and then Barras having the longest queue of the day at the signing tent. America loves a winner.
That progressive suggestion mentioned earlier resurfaces in parts of ‘Fake’, the musical aspects rather than the vocals. Lots from this accomplished band of players (completed by producer/guitarist/keyboardist Josiah Manning and bassist Frazer Kerslake) to chew on in the background, complex in places, traditional in others. To an extent, ‘End of Me’ continues that. In the hands of others, it could be a saccharine-fuelled ballad, cell phone in the air kinda thing, but here, it has so much going on that it will make your head spin. Little progressive flourishes here and there, and it sounds like the band decided to see where this one might take them if they let it spread its wings. Arena-ready? 100%. But a fantastic, slow-building gem that provides many surprises and ultimately is the strongest song of the 11 featured. Superb. Simply, superb. And Mr. Barras’s finest moment, to date.
The growth and development of the Kris Barras Band in the ten years since the debut album ‘Lucky 13’ is dazzling. ‘Monsters We Made’ is the sound of a band realising its potential, and refusing to play by the rules of what you might perceive a Kris Barras album in 2026 should sound like.
Available August 14th via Earache Records
Review – Dave
Photo credit – Colin Hawkins
Monsters We Made In-Store Tour Dates:
Fri 14th Aug – 1pm – LEEDS Crash
Fri 14th Aug – 7pm – BURY Wax And Beans
Sat 15th Aug – 1pm – GLASGOW Assai
Sat 15th Aug – 6pm – EDINBURGH Assai
Sun 16th Aug – 6pm – LONDON Rough Trade East
Mon 17th Aug – 1pm – GOSPORT A Slice Of Vinyl
Mon 17th Aug – 7pm – KINGSTON Fighting Cocks
Tue 18th Aug – 6.30pm – BRISTOL Rough Trade
Wed 19th Aug – 6pm – NOTTINGHAM Rough Trade
Thu 20th Aug – 7pm – LIVERPOOL Jacaranda
Tickets are on-sale now.
Get yours here: https://linktr.ee/KBB2026.
The “Monsters We Made” Tour Dates
with KRIS BARRAS BAND, supported by 10 Years:
Wed 7th Oct – SOUTHAMPTON, The 1865
Thu 8th Oct – NOTTINGHAM, Rescue Rooms
Fri 9th Oct – GLASGOW, The Garage
Sat 10th Oct – HULL, Welly
Sun 11th Oct – CAMBRIDGE, Mash
Tue 13th Oct – LONDON, The Garage
Wed 14th Oct – MANCHESTER, Club Academy
Thu 15th Oct – WOLVERHAMPTON, KK’s Steel Mill
Fri 16th Oct – TORQUAY, The Foundry
Get your tickets here: https://www.krisbarrasband.com/tour.
