Back on November 14, 2017, Stone Temple Pilots announced their new lead singer, Jeff Gutt, and released their new single “Meadows”.  Through an exhaustive search of over 15,000 submissions they finally found the guy they were looking for in Jeff.  Over the past year, they  have been working together and honing their skills to make sure the band sounded as good as ever and that they gelled.  They didn’t want a Scott Weiland clone, but they needed someone that could pull off the old material as well as the new material (soon to come).  Not only can Jeff sing, but he writes as well.  That combination was what STP was looking for with a new singer.

Scott Weiland was one of the most iconic frontman any band had ever seen.  He is irreplaceable and STP will never be the STP they were with Scott.  A lot of fans won’t be accepting of Jeff for this reason and they are going to be too judgmental of anything new STP puts out.  That is a crying shame because STP isn’t trying to be that STP anymore.  They are trying to move forward with a new sound and honoring the days past.

With the release of “Meadows”, the band has stepped into the future without abandoning anything from the past.  Musically, the song sounds like STP and why wouldn’t it.  These are the same musicians and songwriters of the music from days gone by so of course it is going to sound like STP.  Jeff Gutt sounds amazing. With tinges of Scott’s sound, but not imitating him, you can hear Jeff’s own style shine through.  I think it was a great song choice for the introduction of Jeff as it bridges that gap between new and old so well.

Like with all STP songs, the guitar work by Dean DeLeo is sensational.  It has that STP sound and a great guitar solo.  Robert DeLeo is killing it on bass and Eric Kretz is leading the charge on the drums.  The song, titled “Meadow”, has that airy feel to it like you are outside driving down the road with the top down and enjoying the sunshine. The song even says they “…having fun / here in the sun”.

I think JefF Gutt is an amazing choice for the new lead singer and I can’t wait to see what else comes from the band.  Spring 2018 for their new album is too long to wait.  I am ready for it now.

Since it is a single review, I will score the song a 4 out 5 as I really love it and it gets better and better with each listen.  I do love how the song feels like STP and I have to admit I like that he does sound a little like Scott which excites me to hear how they pull off the old songs live.  They better come to Charlotte when they tour as I will be there to see it.

“Meadow”