Crobot - Supermoon (2026)

Nostalgia has proven a highly potent force in rock music of late, with the likes of Greta Van Fleet, Dirty Honey, and The Struts rising to prominence by largely rediscovering a sound that hit its original zenith more than half a decade ago. But in the specific case of the Pottsville, Pennsylvania-born quartet Crobot, it isn’t the only factor in how the glory days of a seemingly bygone era have been enjoying a noteworthy renaissance in recent years. Originally cutting their teeth in the mid-2010s under the same Wind-up Records banner that propelled the likes of Creed and Evanescence into the stratosphere and a subsequent stint under the umbrella of Mascot Records (former home of Black Label Society, Fozzy & Volbeat), they’ve since struck out on their own with a signature blend of 70s heavy rock and 90s alternative influences and hit critical pay dirt with their 2024 self-released opus Obsidian.

Roughly 2 years to the day, this fold has channeled the same winning formula into their 6th and latest studio LP, Supermoon, and there’s scarcely a trace of hyperbole in that title when considering the contents it carries with it.

The road up until now for this Pennsylvania original hasn’t been without its share of bumps, though for the most part those have come in the form of a constantly shifting rhythm section supporting the soaring vocals and occasional harmonica handiwork of helmsman Brandon Yeagley and guitarist Chris Bishop. For their part, newly recruited bassist Willie Jansen and his brother/drummer Nico carry their weight and then some, filling the shoes of an assembly line of players that have come and gone since 2013 without missing a beat or even giving a hint of disruption in the smooth flow from one album to the next that this outfit has continued to exhibit since its inception.

However, from this album’s onset, it’s clear that the heavy, blues-infused riff work and Robert Plant-like vocal gymnastics of this band’s two co-founding members are the most dynamic and auspicious elements in play in how these songs go from typical classic rock revivalism to signature anthems that transcend a single period in history.

An unmistakable air of familiarity hangs over each of the 12 songs that round out this opus, yet while obvious nods to hard rock’s icons Led Zeppelin and alternative/stoner staples like Soundgarden and Queens Of The Stone Age are hard to miss, at no point does anything feel like a total throwback. The dank and punchy “Gun To My Head” could almost be an outright nod to Badmotorfinger, yet intermitted harmonic chime-ins and Yeagley’s smoother and nimbler vocal presentation almost turn it into a homage to Black Sabbath’s “The Wizard”.

Similar raw and distorted stories like “Battle Cry” and “Trouble (Looking For You)” lean a tad closer to a vintage psychedelic twist on the same early 90s grunge format, though the effects-heavy timbre of Bishop’s guitars shows some clear affinities with Tom Morello, though his guitar solo work leans in more of a traditional blues/rock direction. Things get so bottom-heavy later on in the album that hard stomping numbers like “Bigger By The Pound” and “Too Heavy” put their sound right in their respective names, not to mention draw even greater Black Sabbath comparisons by seeing the Jansen brothers go wild and channel their respective inner Geezer Butler and Bill Ward.

How each chapter of this sonic novella varies from the others often involves heavy elements of another genre encroaching upon the hard rock genre’s dominant position. The strong, bluesy swagger of “Foot Off” sees Crobot taking some time to make Dirty Honey work for their title as premier blues rock revivalists. The loose, flowing blend of easy-going balladry and blues-driven swagger of “Happy Days” and “Let It Kill Me”, as well as the harder-edged swing of “Cold Blooded,” would surely have found George Carlin modifying his stance on white guys playing the blues had he lived to hear them.

The spacey ride through the psychedelic haze with a comedic edge, “Me And Your Mother” lands some infectiously funky grooves that could have simultaneously gained George Clinton’s nod of approval and made Ritchie Blackmore quit Deep Purple all in the same day. Though when all is said and done, the song that proves a cut above the rest is the more traditionally hard-rocking banger “Tethered To Maw”, which is definitely one of the more impressive guitar displays in a hard rock context to come about in the past few years.

Supermoon is the sort of album that showcases that while consistency is the best road to a quality album, the versatility of the established formula proves invaluable in keeping things fresh for those who have been in the passenger seat since the beginning. The influences on it are far from a mystery, yet how they are implemented results in a highly unique sound that would not be mistaken for the more straightforward 70s rock revivalism that has been all the rage for the past decade.

It rocks heavy as much as it rocks hard, channeling the dark and brooding character of Tony Iommi’s signature guitar sound while avoiding becoming an outright heavy metal affair due to the combination of Yeagley’s lighter and more vibrant vocal display and a generally more concise songwriting approach. If rock radio were still the dominant medium, Crobot would be all over it, but even in the more fragmented world of streaming media, the universal power of hard and heavy rock that this album carries will find little difficulty punching through.

Tracklist
01 Gun to My Head
02 Foot Off
03 Battle Cry
04 Happy Days
05 Girl from Another World
06 Me and Your Mother
07 Cold Blooded
08 Trouble (Looking for You)
09 Bigger by the Pound
10 Too Heavy
11 Tethered to Maw
12 Let It Kill Me