J. Michael & The Heavy Burden
J. Michael & the Heavy Burden’s new album Where We Belong dropped into my headphones and immediately transported me somewhere between an outdoor summer festival and a whiskey-soaked barroom floor. There’s an unfiltered joy pulsing through this record, the kind of sweaty, lived-in energy that reminds me why I ever cared about rock and roll in the first place. It starts off with the title track, “Where We Belong,” and the name feels earned. From the moment the guitars light up, it’s a party, a full-bodied celebration of groove, spirit, and musicianship that doesn't beg for your attention so much as it insists you start moving.
“Blind Luck Eddie” leans more into a swampy, blues-drenched vibe. It made me think of early Beck when he was still playing with folk detritus and lo fi distortion, but with more polish. The band sounds like they’re having a blast, and the vocal grit cuts through the mix in all the right ways. “Make Everybody Know” might be the catchiest track here. It has that undeniable singalong hook, the kind you belt out in the car or with strangers at a show. The interplay between the male and female vocals is exuberant without being overdone, and the strings add a lushness that elevates the whole thing.
“Firework” slows things down just when you need it. It’s tender, rich with harmony, and that fiddle part hit me like a slow dance I wasn’t expecting. It builds into a final barroom chorus, the kind where you’re arm in arm with someone you just met, half yelling, half smiling into the night. “Sue Bear” follows with a fingerpicked acoustic line that conjured Jimmy Page in a rare moment of restraint. It's short, raw, and oddly intimate.
“Soul Chemistry” is the album’s Americana centerpiece, heartfelt and well crafted, while “Moment” explodes with fuzz and urgency. “Hard Lesson” brings it all home. There’s a rough grace to the vocals, and the slide guitar is downright cinematic. It’s the kind of closer that feels earned, not a bow, but a final exhale.
What struck me most about Where We Belong is how little it tries to impress and how much it simply feels. These songs aren’t chasing trends or polishing for radio. They’re built to last, to live, to breathe. It’s an album made for those of us who still believe music should move you, body, heart, and soul.
