Stone Temple Pilots would have to be one of the most under rated bands of the past 20 years. They've never quite received the kudos that I think they deserve. When they split in 2003 I was more than a little miffed. I felt like they were a band that still had plenty of good music in them. I guess the band felt the same as, after a seven year lay off, STP are back. About bloody time!

The new, self titled album, Stone Temple Pilots was released in Australia on 21 May 2010. Needless to say, a quick visit to JB HiFi and I was sold.

The album kicks off with the first single "Between The Lines", a rocky, up tempo little number that provides the ideal opener.

"Huckleberry Crumble" reminds me a lot of a driving 1970's classic rock song. It has got a 'Les Paul plugged straight into a Marshall' vibe and proves that sometimes simple is best.

The fourth track, "Hickory Dichotomy" takes me back to the "Tiny Music..." era. "Dare if you dare" is a dreamy, psychedelic style pop-romp that probably owes more than a little to the Beatles. The following track "Cinnamon" also shares a dreamy vibe, before "Hazy Daze" picks up the rocking pace again.

"Bagman" is another 1970's inspired track and "First kiss on Mars" seems like a massive hat tip to David Bowie.

The album sees the welcome return of the Dean DeLeo, psychedelic, wah affected guitar solo. Throughout the album Scott Weiland seems to be channelling the spirits of the 70's rock gods. For example, there were a couple of moments during the first listen where I thought I may have been listening to Bowie. In my opinion, the music and the melodies are as good as anything the band have released, either collectively or through other projects.

Whether you're a fan of STP, classic rock or just after a cracking good collection of songs, then there is a good chance that you'll like this album. For me, this is the album of the year so far. Maybe I'm just nostalgic, but I don't care, it's just good to have the Stone Temple Pilots back.

Here's the video for the first single "Between The Lines".