Discount Fireworks, the new album from Blacktop Mojo, is not southern rock. They are indeed five handsome, charming, gracious gentlemen from a small town in Texas, Palestine, the home of the Texas Railroad. They are everything that good Southern boys should be, but to define what they do simply as southern rock would be way off the mark.
Blacktop Mojo – Discount Fireworks
Release Date: 6 November 2026
Words: Viki Ridley
Discount Fireworks opens with the blistering Guttshot. A wall of sound, absolutely rammed with Metal riffs and drums of rolling thunder. Matt James wraps his caramel-coated gravel tones around a race to escape the devil, snapping at his heels.
To date, Discount Fireworks has produced three singles, each one with its own unique draw. First up is 10 Year Itch, one of the most interesting. Is it strings or guitar? It introduces you, hooks your emotions with a deeply moving groove, and delivers words of grief and grey.
Probably the most southern-style track on this release, the barroom swagger of Time The Killer has everything from duelling guitars to harmonica and cowbell and is a truly delicious, hip-grinding swagger.
Sinister, rhythmic, S.A.D. feels like the perfect soundtrack to heavy rain on a dark day. Anaesthesia, the drug of losing one’s heart in love, foolish, desperate, beautiful, powerful, broken. S.A.D. is a work of art in itself.
However, as with all Blacktop Mojo albums, the secret sauce is not the flavour offered by the singles. The really tasty goods are buried within the album and, tease us as they will, they often make us wait, building the tension until they punch us straight in the heart, head or gut, with tracks such as Put Down The Dog.
Gloriously heavy with fear and anger, teeth and claws, the darkness of the black dog winning its fight to bite, and the struggle for survival of your soul. Powerful and metaphorical lyrics are punctuated with a blues riff that cuts a bright, clear trail, then fades to mist, leaving us without light once again, ready to meet our fate.
Big Blue Let Down resonates with a melancholy beauty that is reminiscent of Scott Weiland and Stone Temple Pilots in their Purple era. The gentle build of a constant hum of consciousness is carried on a pulsing heart bass, broken only by drums crashing through like waves breaking on the shore. “Turn the car around, I left my halo at home” is a line that is noteworthy and memorable, a moment of tongue-in-cheek humour for our aural pleasure and a line that will no doubt become Mojo lore.
Taking us to the end, with the emotive acoustic Little White Orchids, is a perfect demise. The song itself is pretty, but the truth opens like a flower to reveal the unpretentious, raw pain of an aching heart, emoted so darkly from James’ soul.
Fourteen years from inception, Blacktop Mojo have gathered a huge, very loyal fan base here in the UK, following a run of sold out shows with the truly magnificent Shaman’s Harvest, back in March 2025.
Long-time fans, having heard them only on record or live stream, were treated to a high-energy, interactive (audience participation required) performance. With a substantial back catalogue to choose from, I have it on good authority that no two shows were alike, with a varied setlist and even the addition of a couple of different covers each night.
Present and, slightly, correct, I was in attendance at their debut show at Anarchy Brew in Newcastle, where I can proudly state that we collectively absolutely ruined Phil Collins’ In The Air Tonight and took a very stern telling off before we nailed it. Shameful.
But it added very much to the genuine sense of love for the guys in the room that night and, well, the venue is a brewery. Do not give us candy and expect us not to eat it. Let us not mention performance anxiety either, please.
As a fan of each album release so far, I have been waiting for Discount Fireworks with bated breath. Their 2021 self-titled release being my introduction to the band, it continues to be my first love, and it remains on heavy rotation as part of the soundtrack to my life.
Having heard Discount Fireworks, however, I may need to pledge allegiance to a new flag.
Formed back in 2012 by drummer Nathan Gillis and singer-songwriter Matt James, Blacktop Mojo have gathered some true greatness along the way. Ryan Keifer and Malcolm Booher on lead guitars and Catt (Matt) Murtis on bass, who is actually also a highly accomplished guitar player, as is James.
At a live show, if you are very lucky, you may get to see them all step to the front of the stage together, for what has become a much anticipated, mesmerising moment to witness. It is that special blend of musical prowess, old-school Heavy Metal, country, gospel, blues and grunge that gives that Mojo sound.
This is a band that stands on the shoulders of giants Aerosmith, Black Crowes, ZZ Top, and yes, even Genesis. But what you also hear and feel is the beauty of emotion and anguish that Alice In Chains, Soundgarden, Audioslave and STP were so easily able to manifest in their music.
Blacktop Mojo have their boots planted firmly in grunge, and Discount Fireworks continues to be on brand but takes the guys to another level altogether.
This album is not a grower. The impact is instant and it will take you down.
My advice? Pour yourself a drink and light a candle. It is so dark in places you might well need it. Hold on tight. You are about to ride a roller coaster of emotions, and I guarantee you will want to do it over and over again.
Blacktop Mojo release Discount Fireworks on 6 November 2026 via Cuhmon Records. For more details, visit blacktopmojo.com.
