Written By Kevin McSweeney
Superstar is the debut full-length album from Kelowna, a classic rock quintet formed in Central Scotland in 2024. They released their debut EP, Better Day, in short order, giving it a very similar title to that of a massive hit by their fellow Scottish rockers Gun, I can’t help but notice.
Speaking of nomenclature, I’m intrigued as to why they named the band after a Canadian city. I know there’s a large Scottish diaspora in Canada, and I’ve learned that the name of the city is derived from an indigenous Okanagan term meaning “grizzly bear”. That’s fairly rock and roll, I suppose.
According to the press release, the band drew inspiration from the likes of Muse, Thin Lizzy and Pearl Jam. I’m definitely hearing the Thin Lizzy influence on this album. The others? Not so much. Instead, I’m hearing ZZ Top – rest in peace, Frank Beard – and maybe a bit of The Black Crowes. Davy Wilson’s rich, expressive vocals remind me of those of Chris Robinson. (Hang on a minute; he’s not Wee Mental Davy of Kevin Bridges fame, is he?)
For this Kelowna Superstar album review I will go through this record track-by-track, in the customary Metal Lair style, to see what the fuss is all about. I’ll warn you that, if you insist on intensity and abrasiveness, this might not be the album for you. If, however, you’re happy enough with a band that makes up for a lack of heaviness with plenty of heart, stick around, and let’s savour this one together, possibly over a wee dram.
Kelowna Superstar album review: Track – By – Track:
Midnight Rider is about as bluesy an introduction to an album as I’ve heard in 2026. With the slick, Billy Gibbons-style riffing and the organ humming away in the background, I could well imagine them performing this song behind chicken wire in a dive bar, just before Chuck Norris or Patrick Swayze storms in and starts kicking the shit out of the less desirable members of the audience.
There’s an odd resort to a clicky rimshot by Rory McEwan in a verse that doesn’t really call for it. There is no denying the soulfulness of the chorus, however, and Paul Mooney’s solo had me wanting to perform a Chuck Berry/Angus Young duck walk along to it. If I start getting up to that sort of caper at my age, I won’t be walking like a human for a good while after.
Second Place is quite literally in second place on the tracklisting. It’s nice to see that a bit of thought has gone into it. It opens with a riff that’s half-way between Money for Nothing by Dire Straits and Elastica’s Connection.
The sound achieved as the song gets underway reminds me very much of Machine Head. No, not the Oakland groove metal icons! I’m talking about the album by Deep Purple. Wilson is as soulful as Ian Gillan and Ian King Davy’s – another Wee Mental Davy? – organ could be the handiwork of John Lord.
Two songs in and it’s already evident that they love a big chorus. This one is based on a four-chord progression that is simple but highly effective. It’d have the hairs stood up on your neck in a live setting. Prior to the guitar solo, there’s an organ solo, which is all very House of The Rising Sun with its 1960s sound.
The title Wild and Free throws my mind back to Free ‘N’ Easy by their fellow Glasgow-based band The Almighty, and indeed Wild & Wonderful by the same outfit, back when they were a bluesy hard rock band before going all grungy on Powertrippin’.
(The Almighty’s Northern Irish frontman Ricky Warwick is currently a member of the aforementioned Thin Lizzy, I mention for no discernible reason.) The keyboards have moved from the swinging Sixties to something straight out of the following decade, sounding almost like The Stranglers at times.
The song is at a gentler pace than the previous two, though not yet into power ballad territory, with some sombre reflection creeping into the vocals. I was struck by the line before the solo: “You can take me out of the streets, my love, but you can’t take the streets from me.”
I know Glasgow fairly well. Those are some scary fucking streets! There are times when the song resembles one of the more doleful numbers from Jeff Wayne’s War of The Worlds, with the synths giving it a distinctly proggy feel.
The oddly-named Raven Lady is next. I’m imagining a dark-haired temptress, rather than a lady who actually turns into a raven. That would be too great a venture into prog territory!
Those arpeggiated minor chords remind me once again of The Almighty, particularly on something like Over The Edge. (That’s a track from the Powertrippin’ album.
I’m nothing if not inconsistent.) The deployment of a cowbell over the course of eight bars, together with intermittent parps on the organ, bring an element of Free to proceedings, whereas the coda following a rousing final rendition of the chorus features a riff that spits more venom than anything we’ve heard so far.
Can we have some more of that, please? Sorry, but we are Metal Lair. It’s kind of our thing.
Meet You is a title that brings Depeche Mode to mind for some reason. The song certainly doesn’t sound like Depeche Mode, even if the title does. If anything, with all the earnest ivory tinkling, it sounds like Adele covering U2’s One, except with Davy on vocals instead.
Maybe Adele would be playing the piano instead of singing. Who knows? We’re firmly in ballad territory now, with it sounding like something that Embrace would have been enjoying enormous UK chart success with in the early 2000s.
Having said that, the guitar solo nods more towards Parisienne Walkways. It would have been a great opportunity to get the lighters out back in the day.
It’d all be done with phone screens these days. That’s Gen Z for you. They probably needed a safe space when the band assumed the gender of the raven.
The Wordsmith opens with a funky riff that verges on an old-school porn soundtrack. (I’m something of a wordsmith myself!) I am joking, of course. It sounds more like the kind of riff that you’d get from their fellow British rock bands like Reef or The Kooks.
Don’t let that put you off. Actually, the groove they settle into, with all the Latin percussion in evidence, is far more like their fellow Scots Primal Scream, which is much more like it!
The song boasts a golden chorus that would suit the inclusion of a gospel choir.
There’s a lovely slow-hand solo, and ultimately, it’s a nice, groovy little number that might just have you shuffling slowly round the kitchen to it, possibly whilst fixing yourself a nice, refreshing drink. Mine’s a Buckfast Tonic Wine.
Is that a stoner riff starting up? Why, it’s pure Insanity, I tell you! The seventh song starts, and I could almost be listening to Kyuss, which is not what I expected.
When we get into the meat and bones of the thing, it starts to sound more like a cross between Peter Gabriel’s Shock The Monkey and Stevie Wonder’s Higher Ground, with perhaps a bit of T Rex creeping into the chorus.
Not that you’d want to be crept up on by a T Rex. Those things were dangerous. There’s a hint of Alice in Chains with the lushness of those vocal harmonies, and the way they bring the song to an end with a flourish is tremendous fun.
Monster is up next, and I’m disappointed that they’ve chosen to honour that particular brand of carbonated beverage with a song. It should have been Irn Bru.
Actually, the opening riff, combined with atmospheric synths, almost gives it a sense of the British gothic rock of the 1980s, though the vocal melody makes it sound more like Jon Bon Jovi’s Blaze of Glory.
What I love most about the song is the solo, which is triple-layered, starting with a standard rock guitar solo, before the sexy, Sixties organ takes over.
This then switches to a clean, honky-tonk piano sound. I know it’s not technically a solo if it’s played by more than one musician, but I liked it. Shut up!
Song For Cathy is next, and I hope Cathy appreciates the accolade, who and wherever she may be. The song in her honour is a pretty, acoustic guitar-led ballad.
Such songs were almost de rigueur on a hard rock/hair metal album in the 1980s – see Mr Big’s To Be With You or Poison’s Every Rose Has Its Thorn for some fine examples. (OK! The Mr Big song was from the early 1990s. Again, shut up!)
Actually, in terms of its chord structure and melody, it sounds more like Purple Rain by Prince than either of the previous songs I’ve mentioned.
It’s a lovely little song that probably deserves to be performed badly by maudlin drunkards in karaoke bars one day. They certainly haven’t made themselves Cathy’s clowns with this one.
Finally, we have Faith in The Music, which is something we firmly advocate here at Metal Lair.
The last track begins with ominous guitar notes that sound almost like distress signals. This is at odds with everything we’ve heard so far.
These are woven into a lead guitar intro played over a marching snare beat, and it’s as if we’re at the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo all of a sudden.
Wilson’s soulful vocals remind me of Jim Kerr on Belfast Child by Simple Minds, another great Scottish band. This is a joyful, emphatic celebration of the need to “keep fighting” and to believe in the life-affirming power of music. It’s stirring stuff!
Bassist Simon Amos makes his presence known with some notable flourishes to grab the attention, having been content to let the others take the spotlight hitherto.
The song, and indeed the album, are brought to a close by an extended Paul Mooney solo that functions like the one at the end of Lynyrd Skynyrd’s Free Bird, and if that doesn’t give you faith in the music, nothing will.
So there we have it. It’s certainly not the heaviest album I’ll review this year, but it’s an immensely enjoyable one, full of passion and pride, and soulfulness sweeter than Scottish butter tablet.
I for one welcome more old-school hard rock bands from Scotland. It’s something they’ve done so well in the past, with the likes of The Almighty and Gun. With Kelowna taking up the reins, alongside Blackfyre Rising, whose self-titled debut EP was reviewed by my good self on this very forum in June of last year, this could be the start of something a wee bit braw.
Metal Lair awards Superstar by Kelowna four devil horns out of five.
Track listing:
1. Midnight Rider
2. Second Place
3. Wild and Free
4. Raven Lady
5. Meet You
6. The Wordsmith
7. Insanity
8. Monster
9. Song for Cathy
10. Faith in the Music.
Line-Up:
Davy Wilson – Lead Vocals
Paul Mooney – Lead Guitar
Simon Amos – Bass
Ian King Davy – Keyboards
Rory McEwan – Drums
Kelowna Online:
About The Author
Kevin McSweeney is Metal Lair’s resident scribe of the underground, eternally rummaging through the global metal scene for riffs worth your time.
As the guiding hand behind Seven Deadly Songs every Friday, he has an uncanny knack for finding the track you didn’t know you needed, usually before finishing his pint.
Equal parts loyal, kind, and quietly razor-witted, Kevin brings deep knowledge, impeccable taste, and a steady, reliable presence to Metal Lair.
Read More From This Author:
Album Review: To No Avail by Xenith
Album Review: Made Flesh by Untitled With Drums
Sakoya – World Gone Crazy EP Review
The Larches – Nihilistic Majesties EP Review
Album Review: Exodus Unknown by Imperium
No algorithms. No fluff. No watered-down corporate metal coverage.
Subscribe to Metal Lair and get weekly underground features, Seven Deadly Songs, Deep Cuts, interviews, and original metal journalism sent directly to your inbox.
Join the patrons of Metal Lair
MetalLair.net is a metal zine muttering to itself about seo and blastbeats at 3 AM powered by caffeine, riffs, a severe lack of sleep, and a dog wondering why the human is still awake.
Sometimes it’s Kevin passing out mid Seven Deadly Songs.
Sometimes it’s digging up forgotten records no one else is talking about.
Always, it’s built for people who actually live this music.
If that sounds like you, you’re already one of us.
Supporting Metal Lair means keeping it independent, loud, and real with no corporate filters, no watered-down takes. If you want to help keep it alive…
Become a patron of Metal Lair.