It's quite a week for fans of classic rock as two of the UK's standard bearers for the next generation go head-to-head with brand new records. This accomplished, passionate and powerful - more so than last year's patchy debut - album is the sound of a serious band with serious ambition. On this evidence The Union are no mere side project created to fill the Thunder downtime. Mixing heavier rhythms with emotive acoustic turns, Siren's Song showcases the full range of Pete Shoulder's award-winning pipes and the production is a millions miles away from The Union's 2010 debut. It seems Morley and Shoulder have learnt from that bizarre mix to get the balance just right and, as a creative force and complementary team, they hit every note with delightful perfection. Orion is one of the songs of the year - the stripped back approach making full use of Shoulder's talents to create a haunting, almost tear-jerking Americana-meets Zeppelin aural tour de force. By contrast Black Gold is uptempo, up-front and in your face with a monster Morley riff and layered chorus with a definite nod to the Black Crowes. Siren's Song is the album The Union were always capable of making. It might have dropped 12 months later than expected but it's been well worth the wait.