Album Review: Jay Buchanan - Weapons of Beauty (2026, Sacred Tongue Records)
- Stuart Ball
- 6 minutes ago
- 7 min read
Written: 24th January 2026
Jay Buchanan - who recently appeared on screen in Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere - is best known as the charismatic frontman and lyricist for Grammy-nominated rock band Rival Sons, whose powerful vocals and emotive song writing have earned him international recognition. Over the past two decades, Buchanan has collaborated with a diverse range of artists and contributed to numerous acclaimed projects, building a reputation for raw honesty and expressive artistry. After many years at the helm of Rival Sons and a career marked by creative reinvention, he is ready to release his debut solo album, Weapons of Beauty. In preparation, Buchanan disappeared into the Mojave Desert for three months, holed up writing in an underground, windowless bunker. Trekking back-and-forth between family and solitude, he spent five or six days at a time at his makeshift getaway. “The silence,” he says, “was both terrifying and liberating. A caterpillar knows when it’s time to get into the cocoon.”
From the outset, it is evident that Weapons of Beauty stands apart from anything Rival Sons have released - and rightly so. After waiting this long to embark on a solo journey, it would have made little sense for Jay Buchanan to deliver an album that simply invited direct comparison to his band’s catalogue. Commanding your attention right from the start, opening track Caroline is an utterly heartbreaking country tinged ballad that tells the story of a lost love. Buchanan’s voice, always compelling, is a revelation in this stripped back form. It rises and falls with grace, power and colour. “I suppose that writing about unquenchable grief allows you a kind of permission to pay respect to those deep chasms in your life without wallowing in them,” Buchanan says. “Putting it in a song lets you buy the ticket and take the ride — and then move on.” After only one song, Buchanan already threatens to draw tears from the listener’s eye - a devastatingly beautiful opening that sets the emotional stakes for the album ahead. You knew you were / On your way out / Long before I did / You knew it would kill me / That’s why you / Kept it hid.
High and Lonesome embraces the solitude that consumed Buchanan during the making of the album. Featuring some gorgeous slide guitar, High and Lonesome is a song that turns its gaze inwards as the protagonist reflecting on a life marked by mistakes and isolation; the song explores themes of regret, missed opportunities and the search for meaning. Slow paced and meditative, it allows Buchanan the opportunity to draw out some of the notes in his delivery and with a hint of blues, it urges us to look back at our own lives. “There was one night I was sitting there next to a small fire. Looking up, there’s a hill not too far from where I’m at and I think I can see something,” Buchanan says, “I turned on my headlamp and I shined it out there. I could see the reflections of two or three pairs of eyes. Coyotes, just watching me by the fire. These centuries of their kind watching mine, out here doing the same thing. That’s when High and Lonesome began to come to me.”
True Black brings up the pace merging elements of classic rock, gospel, American gothic and blues. Further slide guitar from J.D. Simo - that remind me of David Lindley on early Jackson Browne albums – adds delightful emotive touches and Philip Towns' energetic piano together with Chris Powell’s thoughtful drumming will have you tapping your foot throughout. Buchanan himself is out front like he is giving a sermon on the struggle between making good or bad choices in life. As I walk side by side / With the wicked and the righteous / I do wonder to which one of them / I truly belong.
Tumbleweeds adopts a slightly more autobiographical slant, reflecting Buchanan’s own journey from Nashville back to California. The rolling beat gives the feeling of movement and travel as the lovers in the story contemplate their relationship on their journey through a life that encompasses migration, family struggles, lost dreams and the hope of a better future. While there seems to be a simplicity at the heart of the music on Weapons of Beauty, there are some wonderful embellishments from guitar, tambourine and intelligent percussion. This is an album rich in storytelling and that, ultimately, is what drives the music. Buchanan’s lyrics shine a light on ordinary lives, capturing the small triumphs and quiet struggles that shape our days. He delves into the details of daily existence - those fleeting moments of joy, the shadows of hardship and the unexpected bursts of happiness that can follow even the darkest times. In doing so, he reminds us that the beauty and tragedy of life are often found in its most familiar corners.
Even from the first listen, Shower of Roses – a strong contender for the best track here - promises to be one of the most spellbindingly poignant songs you will hear this year. Buchanan’s vocals are among the best he has delivered during his career. Achingly tender and soul-stirring, he tells the story of the experience of performing and the desire for authenticity. Examining the tension between public persona and private self, it expresses the hope that, in the end, one’s true character will be remembered. When the crowds have all gone / Lights go out on the stage / When the curtain comes down / You just want them to say / That you never took more than you gave. The arrangement is crafted with care, featuring swells and gentle retreats that perfectly mirror the song’s emotional arc. The musicians Buchanan has brought together demonstrate remarkable sensitivity and skill, elevating every moment.
Buoyant drumming and acoustic guitar open Deep Swimming, with harmonised vocals evoking Simon and Garfunkel at times. As Buchanan stretches his voice, brief echoes of October / The Unforgettable Fire era U2 emerge. Lyrically, it looks back on family life, memories and the passage of time - exploring everyday moments, lost opportunities and the way life’s responsibilities can make us forget to truly live. However, there is an inherent joy in the music and it certainly makes us think deeply about the value that can be found in the simple fabric of daily life. End of the month too soon / Damn this job / Damn yours too / There’s a lot of good living / We forget to do / The hours we traded / Were just supposed to be a few.
Sway – a passionate ode to Buchanan’s wife – slows the tempo once more. A pure love song about desire, commitment and finding comfort in a partner, it focuses on the importance of being present with each other and cherishing the relationship through all stages of life. The song unfolds in remarkable fashion over its five and a half minutes, beginning with reflective acoustic guitar and gradually expanding in scope. Each layer of instrumentation is introduced with precision as the band moves in perfect unison - an exercise in restraint and timing. By the time the track reaches its conclusion, it delivers one of the album’s most epic moments: Buchanan’s journey from tender introspection to hauntingly powerful, soaring vocals is matched by the band’s dynamic crescendo, Brian Allen’s bass grounding the entire performance.
The Great Divide will find many fans amongst those who enjoy Fleetwood Mac; it echoes their skill in blending rock, melodic songwriting and intelligent instrumentation that includes Leroy Powell’s subtle motifs. It brings some interesting variation to Weapons of Beauty showing that Jay Buchanan did not lay any restrictions on what styles the album should encompass. Lyrically, it questions how to break old patterns and find common ground in a relationship, emphasising the need for unity and understanding. Lately I’ve been dreaming / That you walk with me / Straight into the dawn / Better than we used to be.
Penultimately, Buchanan delivers a cover of Leonard Cohen’s Dance Me to the End of Love, reimagined in the soulful style of Van Morrison, thus paying homage to two of his greatest inspirations. Adding his own touches to the overall performance, it takes the song to a vastly different place to the carnival, waltz-like rhythms of the original.
The album ends with the stunning title track, a song that was nearly omitted as Buchanan felt it might be too personal. “Sometimes it gets so close to the bone that the indulgence feels almost shameful when you say it out loud.” Buchanan comments, “If my version of God were the craft itself, I suppose this might be my prayer. This relationship I have sometimes known but mostly sought, for the majority of my life remains both completely mysterious and beautifully familiar.” Rivalling Sway and Shower of Roses as the album’s most profoundly moving track, this piano-led masterpiece is his testament to the power of art, words and music to confront darkness and hardship. Following Buchanan’s bold decision to include it, he holds nothing back - laying his soul bare as his voice quivers with raw emotion, every note steeped in vulnerability and truth. It is an ending that feels both cathartic and transcendent.
As an overall experience, Weapons of Beauty draws the listener into deeply personal spaces, evoking the image of Buchanan seated in the Mojave Desert, crafting these songs of wonder. “I knew that I wanted the album to have a very cinematic, wide-lensed landscape,” Buchanan comments, “For the music to have this scenic quality of the America I’ve seen over these decades of touring. This landscape of lonesome sunsets and big-clouded skies, silhouetted by our dreams and failures. I wanted it to be open in this way, with no stacking of characters or frequencies. No one is there just taking up space, each voice part of a small ensemble cast, like a stage play.”
Weapons of Beauty is an exceptional album. Few records sustain such profound emotion across so many tracks, yet this one remains wholly authentic throughout. It is more than a set of songs; it feels like a conversation, an invitation to pause and reflect. Buchanan’s vocal delivery is remarkable in its honesty, moving from quiet vulnerability to commanding strength without ever losing its sense of purpose. “As music continues to be choked out by technology, I wanted to draw pictures in the dirt,” states Buchanan. "This approach is right with me, and I’ve just come to a point where there is no longer a choice. Weapons Of Beauty is the sound of these plates shifting within me, too loud to ignore. Surprisingly, I’ve never known a vulnerability to feel so empowering.” The musicianship is equally assured, every instrument serving the story rather than overshadowing it. Weapons of Beauty reminds us that music at its best does not simply entertain; it illuminates, offering moments of truth that stay with you long after the final note fades. An album that is already positioned to stand amongst the best you will hear this year.
Weapons of Beauty is released on 6th February 2026.
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