Rival Sons are not in a hurry. They never have been. But the next chapter of the Long Beach hard rock band is taking shape — and the picture Jay Buchanan is painting sounds like a deliberate step back toward the raw core that made them worth following in the first place.
In a recent conversation on SPIN Presents Lipps Service With Scott Lipps, Buchanan laid out his creative intent for the follow-up to 2023's Darkfighter and Lightbringer twin LPs. The message was direct: strip it back, make it hurt, make it real.
"Toothache Raw"
"I just wanna make a fucking black T-shirt record," Buchanan said. "Something really, really rough, really unrefined and as close to the bone as possible."
The reference point he reached for was telling. Buchanan pointed to The Southern Harmony and Musical Companion, the Black Crowes' 1992 classic — an album built on sweat, Stones-level groove, and a refusal to sand off any edges. "Like, it's so raw, it's almost like toothache raw," he said. "Like, 'Oh.'"
For Rival Sons, that instinct makes sense. Their best records — Pressure & Time (2011), Head Down (2012), Feral Roots (2019) — all carry that unwashed electricity. The Darkfighter/Lightbringer pairing was ambitious and expansive, a deliberate artistic pivot. But Buchanan seems ready to pull back toward instinct.
He was also clear-eyed about the collaborative nature of that vision. "Scott [Holiday] and I — it's a collaboration," he noted. "So once we put things together, it's gonna be that way." Whatever the final shape, Holiday's guitar will anchor it — and Holiday has always brought a muscular, blues-derived edge that wouldn't clash with the raw direction Buchanan is describing.
The Timeline Has Shifted — For a Personal Reason
Rival Sons were set to enter the studio in early 2026. That plan changed in December.
During a January appearance on SiriusXM's Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk, Buchanan revealed that his wife had been diagnosed with breast cancer in December 2025. He paused everything.
"For me, I'm home," Buchanan said. "I'm gonna take care of my wife and get her through this." He added that he expects her to come through treatment successfully, crediting advances in medicine, but made clear where his priorities sit. "This is where I belong right now."
It's the kind of statement that reframes everything — including the impatience fans might feel about a gap between Rival Sons records. Darkfighter and Lightbringer landed in 2023. By any standard, the band is due. But the pause has context, and it matters.
Buchanan expressed cautious optimism about a 2026 release: "Hopefully, hopefully we can get this record out this year." The band had been working in advance — a shift from the floor-written, panic-mode approach of their first five or six albums. The material exists. The timing is what's uncertain.
Dave Cobb Is (Almost Certainly) Back
Buchanan was also asked about the band's ongoing relationship with producer Dave Cobb, who has produced nine Rival Sons records. His answer was effusive.
"I love working with Dave," Buchanan said. "He's just so damn good at what he does. We love Dave, and I do. He's a good friend and an extremely talented person."
He stopped short of a confirmed commitment — noting that "we've gotta talk with Dave" and that alignment has to feel right — but described the relationship as something close to a creative family. "Having a shorthand of communication definitely helps out when you're in the studio. A lot of the time you'll just be thinking the same thing."
For reference: Cobb produced both Darkfighter and Lightbringer, as well as Feral Roots, the album that earned Rival Sons Grammy nominations for Best Rock Album and Best Rock Performance, and launched "Do Your Worst" to No. 1 at Rock Radio. That run is not one the band is walking away from lightly.
Where This Fits in the Rival Sons Story
Rival Sons have never chased trends, and that consistency has built something durable. They've shared stages with Black Sabbath, the Rolling Stones, AC/DC, and Guns N' Roses. They launched their own label — Sacred Tongue Recordings, distributed by Thirty Tigers — in 2021. They've played over 250 shows in a single year.
In February 2026, Buchanan dropped his debut solo album, Weapons of Beauty, a quieter, more intimate record that stood apart from the Rival Sons catalog. That pivot made the question inevitable: would the next band record overcorrect toward heavy? Buchanan's answer — that he wants something rawer, rougher, stripped of polish — isn't quite the same as heavy. It's more essential than that.
A black T-shirt record. Close to the bone. Toothache raw.
Whenever it comes, it sounds worth the wait.
Support the band and pre-order upcoming releases via Amazon. For more hard rock coverage, check the Metal Mantra metal news hub and features.
