Often, the national music media pundits posit that rock ’n’ roll is dead—replaced on the charts by hip-hop, EDM and their derivatives. No one even plays or writes songs on guitar anymore—it’s all songwriting by committee.

Well don’t tell that to Chris Lee. His solo album, Protest Songs and Party Anthems, brims with rock energy. The bass churns, the drums pound, the guitars scream and so do the vocals. He wrote all the songs and plays guitar and bass on every cut. Lead guitar duties are shared. There is nary a keyboard in sight.

Lee is best known as the frontman for Supagroup, one of New Orleans’ most beloved hard-rocking outfits. A native of Alaska of Chinese descent, he found his way to the Crescent City to attend college and, like so many of his musical peers, never left.

The album opens with “Hail to the Strongman,” which turns the seemingly either/or dichotomy of the album’s title on its head because the tune is both a protest song and a party anthem. Other cuts on the album like “Real Go Getter” reveal the same dynamic. Lee’s lyrics reflect the times we are living in without sacrificing his trademark vocal wail and crunchy rock sound.

Like any good rock ’n’ roll album, Protest Songs and Party Anthems feature a great acoustic cut. “No Assembly Required” is straight out of the Rolling Stones playbook with chiming acoustic guitars. But lyrically it talks about the military service of his forefathers and chills at the state of the country today. 

Clocking it at only 33 minutes, the ten songs on the album are concise and perfectly crafted. Each tune is a statement by an artist who has something to say beyond the usual concerns of a guitar-slinging hard rocker.