It’s been a little over four years since the last full-length record from Sons Of An Illustrious Father. One Body was my favorite record of 2011, and one that I return to often even today. Since then the group have put out a handful of songs to tide us over. “Loveletting,” off the Sons EP that came out a little over a year ago is a great tune, and a good indicator of what was to come on Revol.

The transition to a three-piece seems to have occurred rather easily for Sons. They share singing responsibilities equally, which allows everyone to shine in their own way. The biggest shocker on Revol is how big they sound this time around. If you’ve been listening to them since their first record from 2009, you won’t find much of that band here. Guitars are turned up, the drums are splattered all over, and the vocals are clean and up front. It’s a totally different sound, but it does retain the honesty and passion we’ve come to love from them.

Josh Aubin seems to receive the biggest benefit here. Ezra Miller has his fanbase and Lilah Larson has blown us away time and again. But on Revol, Aubin gets a lot of mileage out of his keyboard and his voice is featured plenty. His voice doesn’t invoke the kind of pain and yearning that Larson and Miller articulate so well, but he gets his message across without having to be fancy about it.

On “Post-Future,” which was released as a single last week, Aubin sings about the disconnection in humanity caused by technology. “You can find reason wherever you want it to be, but is finding an answer gonna set you free?”

“Opposite Of Love” is a pretty traditional blues number that allows Lilah the opportunity to showcase her powerhouse voice a little bit. She has a little more Fiona Apple in her voice than I ever noticed before, and some of the raw ferocity gives way to a new confidence and polish. “There is no opposite of love” she sings over and over, her words getting louder and louder before she lets loose with a wail that will send shivers down your spine.

I hope Revol is the album that pushes Sons to the next level, if for no other selfish reason than I’d like to see them play in Chicago more often (they’ve been here 3 times). They do have a few east coast dates lined up over the next couple weeks before they head down to Austin like every other band in the world. Check out their Facebook page for more tour info. The record is out this Friday, but you can hear it now via Allmusic!