External Combustion


External Combustion is the second studio album by American rock band Mike Campbell & The Dirty Knobs. The album was released by BMG Rights Management in 2023 to positive reviews and was supported by the first large-scale tour from the band, which included cover songs from Campbell's former group Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, as well as songs from the band's debut album Wreckless Abandon.

Reception

Editors at AllMusic rated this album 4 out of 5 stars, with critic Stephen Thomas Erlewine writing that while "this 2022 affair shares many of the same attributes" as the band's debut album Wreckless Abandon, "it's not quite as rough and garagey" resulting in "handsomely crafted classic rock played with flair, wit, and precision, elements that make familiar tropes seem fresh" comparable to Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers's 2014 release Hypnotic Eye. In Classic Rock, Claudia Elliott gave this release a 7 out of 10, calling it "another shot of hard-driving, foot-tapping rock'n'roll". Charles Waring gave External Combustion 3 out of 5 stars for Mojo and characterized the music as "grungy, scuzzy and for all the covert craft of the playing, unashamedly garage". At Ultimate Classic Rock, Gary Graff called this album "solid from start to finish" and stated that it "assures us that the Dirty Knobs are not a side-band lark but... a worthy full-time concern for Campbell and his talents". Bud Scoppa of Uncut rated this work an 8 out of 10 and highlighted many tracks, stating that the music ends "in a blaze of guitar glory".

Track listing

All songs written by Mike Campbell.
  1. "Wicked Mind" – 3:55
  2. "Brigitte Bardot" – 3:23
  3. "Cheap Talk" – 4:38
  4. "External Combustion" – 4:11
  5. "Dirty Job" – 4:13
  6. "State of Mind" – 4:18
  7. "Lightning Boogie" – 4:00
  8. "Rat City" – 4:01
  9. "In This Lifetime" – 3:37
  10. "It Is Written" – 3:52
  11. "Electric Gypsy" – 4:36

Personnel

The Dirty Knobs
Additional personnel