Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10
A sound can change, it can evolve and become even bigger, even more alluring to the careful listener than what it started out as, for Colleen Renison, the sound, the beauty of the individual’s voice is heightened by the band’s almost new approach to writing and it is one that sends a clear and unambiguous message to the world; No Sinner are back with bite, vengeance and maturity by their side.
On the back of their previous album, now seemingly such a long time away and from a different era in the group’s fortunes, Old Habits Die Hard is No Sinner’s arguably greatest collection of songs yet placed down for the fans of the Canadian Blues Rock group. Yet it is also an album which showcases the revolution that has taken place, which celebrates the modification attributed to it. Instead of a group of musicians playing for kicks, taking the time to smile and have fun delivering the music, the sense of responsibility that comes across each song is staggering. It is reminiscent of going from early Beatles tracks to the prime of Sergeant Pepper’s Lonely Heart’s Club Band in just one short step.
A sound can change, perspectives grow and become more entrenched, it is but a simple fact of life that a greater sense of worth must follow us all if we are to become the people we are meant to be; Old Habits Die Hard is Colleen Rennison’s calling card to that fundamental truth and it is one that must not be ignored.
From the life affirming opener of All Woman, through tracks that resonate with craft and spirit such as Saturday Night, Friend of Mine, When the Bell Rings and the wonderful Lines On The Highway, the ever glowing presence of dedication can be found in each moment and it is one that the lyrical splendour will captivate and hold the soul hostage too.
It might have taken time to come up with the album but it certainly is time that was well spent. An occasion that rises the spirits and should be saluted with honesty, Old Habits Die Hard and it with fondness and inclination that this should be the start of something extraordinary.
Ian D. Hall