Sometimes you just need it loud—bruising guitars, pounding drums, urgent vocals, high emotional stakes. Visceral music that leaves you spent whether you’re playing it or listening to it.

The intriguingly named Angels, Demons & Coin Flips is the third in a trilogy of solo albums Aaron Skiles has released since his former band Bourbon Therapy went on hiatus during the pandemic. His first two, both featuring Taylor Hollingsworth of Bon Iver on thundering lead guitar, were loud, aggressive and melodic all at once, like Nirvana and The Ramones teaming up for a power-pop marathon.

With Hollingsworth absent from the credits, the immediate question about album number three became whether Skiles’ new cast of characters would deliver dramatically different results. Happily, the answer is no; this album rocks hard and steady.

First act Wreckage From The Fire (2022) was produced by Matt Patton of the Drive-By Truckers, and Whistle Past The Grave (2023) was produced by Ben Bernstein. This time out, Skiles’ chief collaborator on both production and lead guitar duties is Josh Jové of The Shelters, who also contributes bass, background vocals, and keys, with the drum chair alternating between David Rabkin and Robert Columbus.

The results are tasty, with bold, greasy guitars and crashing drums occupying most of the space that isn’t taken up by Skiles’ keening lead vocals. Lead single “Ain’t No Marks” sets the tone with that now-familiar muscular, confident feel. “We Bat Last” is equally as strong, with fat guitars, chorused vocals, and a touch of synth in the mix as well on this memorable anthem to perseverance.

The punk undercurrent surges to the fore on “Maybe It’s Alright,” as Skiles asks “Is there someone out there? Does anybody care? / This is a scream into the void.” It’s an effective lead-in to the freshened-up sound of “Nothing Pure,” which opens with spare, reverbed chords and close-miked, echoey vocals before they go big on this rather philosophical and melancholy number. “The Same” is a thumping blues-rocker with plenty of attitude in the vocal as Skiles laments the end of a relationship.

The brash, punky “Down A Notch” matches bruising guitar with splashy drums as Skiles sings about the tension when a partner has a lot of opinions about your behavior. The more melodic “Johnny” delivers an elegy for departed friends and/or rivals, and then Skiles leans ever further into his melodic side on “Green Eyes,” which sounds like The Clash playing a Badfinger tune and features a nice wordless vocal section in the late going.

Skiles and Jové close things out with the one-two punch of “Think It Over”—featuring ringing lead guitar, chugging rhythm, and potent organ accents—and “Broken Pieces,” featuring one of Skiles’ best lead vocals, restrained, moody, and reminiscent of Billy Idol. It’s a tune where the drums keep pushing until the arrangement blossoms nicely at the chorus.

The tracks on Angels, Demons & Coin Flips sometimes cut off before the final crash or chord fades completely out, adding to the sense of catharsis-bordering-on-chaos. That sense of urgency is only enhanced by the brevity of these songs; four clock in under three minutes and this 10-track album has a total runtime of just 30 minutes.

Sometimes you just need it loud—and Aaron Skiles delivers that and more on Angels, Demons & Coin Flips, another powerful heavy rock explosion full of heart and soul.

Rating: B+

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