With two solo efforts under his belt and sold-out headline tours in the rearview, iconic frontman, instrumentalist, and “one of rock’s finest vocalists” (KERRANG!), MYLES KENNEDY (Alter Bridge, Slash ft. Myles Kennedy & The Conspirators), is guided by a sense of keenly honed intuition on his third full-length album, The Art of Letting Go, out October 11, 2024, via Napalm Records. The album follows 2021’s acclaimed The Ides of March, which notched a total of four #1 debuts across three countries, topping the US Top Current Hard Music Chart, the UK Official Rock & Metal Chart and Official Independent Album Chart, and Canada’s Hard Music Albums Chart. Beyond generating 10 million-plus streams, it incited unanimous critical applause. RIFF hailed it as “a fantastic and must-listen record,” while Classic Rock Magazine attested, “The Ides of March confirms Myles Kennedy as a musical powerhouse.” In 2023, Kennedy returned to Studio Barbarosa in Florida to record what would become The Art of Letting Go with longtime producer Michael “Elvis” Baskette. Joined by bandmates Zia Uddin [drums] and Tim Tournier [bass], he approached the sessions with a clear and cohesive intent. While his previous outputs boasted more acoustic and roots elements, this time around, Kennedy & Co. delivered a record that could be performed as a trio, without having to reimagine arrangements—resulting in a more riff-heavy, guitar-driven sound. MYLES KENNEDY introduces the album with the hypnotic lead single “Say What You Will.” Right out of the gate, the track’s hummable guitar lead snakes around a thick distorted groove. Elsewhere, drums crash through a storm of swinging riffage on the introspective “Nothing More To Gain” as he locks into a swaggering cadence on the verses. During the bridge, Kennedy wonders, “When will you learn?” Then, there’s the driving “Saving Face,” where a bluesy six-string lick sets the tone, giving way to a momentous beat before turning on a dime towards a chantable refrain offset by high-register harmonies. Clean guitar echoes over a percussive march on “Miss You When You’re Gone,” as the aura of “all things must pass” surrounds the track’s lyrical basis. The finale, “How The Story Ends,” tempers moody orchestration with one last soul-stirring solo and a cathartic chorus, inspired by the personal importance of standing up for one's own interests and needs rather than taking a passive approach. MYLES KENNEDY’s hope with The Art of Letting Go is to provide listeners with an escape, empowerment, healing, and the comfort that we’re all in this together. Kennedy offers, “I’ve realized you don’t need to prove yourself to anyone but you. Do the best you can, remember you’ve got a gift, and use it,” and use his own gift, he has.
