While the success of the Boxer Rebellion’s last album, Union, might be hard to follow, third album The Cold Still might just prove that the third time really is the charm.

Union is famous for being the first self-released record to break into Billboard’s top 100; a mighty feat, and measuring up to that kind of success must have seemed daunting to this group. Luckily, this album lives up to and surpasses expectations, with strong vocals, guitar driven rock songs and help from successful producer Ethan Johns (Ryans Adams, Kings of Leon).

The LP alternates between pulsing guitar rock tunes and softer acoustic pieces. On each piece, singer Nathan Nicholson’s voice stands out; strong yet rough with a slightly feminine edge, it adds a unique twist to this rock band.

The album opens with a bang, courtesy of  “No Harm,” an enchanting piece with minimal instrumentation other than piano and beautfully haunting vocals. It’s followed up by “Step Out of the Car,” a guitar driven song, which exemplifies the group’s rock roots and versatility from the former. The effort continues with many guitar focused songs with strong choruses and big riffs and frequently moves back into more acoustic heartfelt ballads.

Herein lies the one fault of this album. While it’s common practice for albums to contain different varieties of songs from rock to ballads, there’s no driving force on this LP. The album opens with it’s strongest slow song and then builds to its strong single. But from there, the album goes back and forth, ping-ponging from traditional rock to ballads with little flow between tracks. Each song is incredibly strong in its own right with the only minor flaw being the order in which its placed.

Conclusion: Third time’s the charm.