Current events have always had a galvanizing effect on Neil Young, and on this follow-up to 2016's Peace Trail, the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer takes aim at political rhetoric with "Already Great." Accompanied by Promise of the Real—the band that backed him on The Monsanto Years—Young stays topical and passionate on "Fly by Night Deal," an indictment of the oil industry; "When Bad Got Good," a look back at the 2016 election; and "Children of Destiny," an anthem of hope on which the band is backed by an orchestra and choir. Also included are "Stand Tall," "Almost Always," "Diggin' a Hole," and in the tradition of Young's 1970s songs, the epics "Carnival" and "Forever."

"Sometimes the 72-year-old Young is tender and philosophical about the developments that anger him.... [He] and the musicians of Promise of the Real work out the fine points of a swamp-rock groove that distills rage into delicious high-octane sonic abrasion."—NPR