Review: Malone Sibun 'Come Together'

By Mike O’Cull

Blues/rock supergroup Malone Sibun is among the hottest new bands coming out of the UK right now. Led by Detroit blues legend Marcus Malone and high-voltage UK guitarist Innes Sibun, the group’s debut album Come Together greets the world January 31st, 2020 on the Redline Music label. Malone Sibun has already been nominated for a European Blues Award in the Best Band category, despite not yet having an album on the market. That’s an incredibly good omen predicting big things that are surely to come for this powerful outfit. The combination of Malone’s vocals and Sibun’s guitar work proves to be unbeatable and their tight, well-written songs are worthy seekers of the Holy Grail of bringing blues/rock music back into mainstream culture.

Both Malone and Sibun are flourishing original artists in their own right but were inspired to work together after a random meeting at a show, which revealed an immense amount of common ground the two musicians share. They were each coming off of the busiest years of their careers and the time felt right to do something fresh and new. Sibun had 11 albums of his own under his belt and Malone had been nominated for Best Male Vocalist by the UK Blues Awards in 2018 and by the EU Blues Awards for Best Vocalist and Best Album in 2017, which meant whatever they did as a unit was going to be hot. Come Together has proven to be exactly that and will make fans of outstanding guitar-based music listen and move.

The set opens with the crunching title track “Come Together,” a divinely-inspired bit of rock and roll built on a Beatle-esque lyric and a heavy Led Zeppelin-ish riff. Malone’s voice soars over the band to deliver the song’s socially relevant message about how we treat each other and the planet on which we live. Sibun’s guitar tone is to die for and the groove battery of Chris Nugent on drums and Roger Inniss on bass guitar gives Sibun the muscular foundation he needs to take flight.

“Let Me Love You” contrasts an intense “Killing Floor”-esque chorus with a more melodic verse feel with Sibun’s sweet slide playing, culminating in great results. It’s a killer straight-up rock song that’ll pull you inside and sweep you away to a happier place where love and music rule the night. “Taste Of Your Love” doubles down on the love factor and gets acoustic to raise the emotional level up high before the rock kicks in about midway through. Sibun’s guitar playing on the track is diverse and exceptional and Malone takes the vocals all the way home.

The country/rock vibe of “Jodie” comes as a surprise but fits the guitar-slinging tone of the record well and hits your ears hard. It’s amped-up Southern rock more than anything else and packs a dirt-floor boogie sensibility that’s tough enough to push any Saturday night over the cliff of good behavior. “She’s My Girl” touches on a rock-infused Motown style that’s nothing short of euphoric and hints at what a vintage Stones record cut in Detroit could have sounded like.

The final song on Come Together, “Miracle,” bookends the record with the first cut and again implores listeners to recognize that “there’s so much beauty to behold” in life if we take the time to understand and appreciate it. It’s constructed on a sanctified soul groove that underscores the song’s message and ends the record in an uplifting way. Malone Sibun is an epic new project from two of the world’s finest blues/rock musicians and will undoubtedly make an impact in 2020. Deep, heavy, and tasteful, Come Together contains everything it needs to blow wide open. Highly recommended.

Watch “Come Together”