Into the Now

Into the Now is a comeback album on which TESLA — after a temporary hiatus and reunion — played its inherent rock ’n’ roll around unadorned guitar riffs, a sturdy rhythmic base and flavorful singing. Rather than over-modernizing, a stance that values the feel of the playing and the flow of the songs runs throughout. Even after a gap of several years, the persuasiveness of the band sound the five of them create has not dimmed in the least. On the title track “Into the Now” and on “Words Can't Explain,” “Caught In a Dream” and “Only You,” by sounding strong in the hard songs and soft in the gentler ones, the album gains a composure supported by long experience. A lyrical song like “Miles Away” brings out Jeff Keith’s expressiveness too. Reclaiming the appeal of blues-flavored American hard rock in an unforced, natural way, it is a dependable record that vividly conveys the fullness of a re-activated TESLA.