Jared James Nichols, “Jared James Nichols.”

Jared James Nichols’ new self-titled record is so good, it’s a relief.

His third full-length record is a beast. It’s clearly superior to his previous albums, two EPs and various singles he’s released over the past decade. Moreso, it’s a definitive statement that he’s arrived.

It’s also a relief because I wasn’t going to review this record because Nichols’ manager is a former bandmate and one of my best friends. I agreed to do so with the disclaimer that I’m probably biased.

Now that that’s out of the way: Nichols’ self-titled record is such a leap in the development of the Nashville-based guitarist-singer, I can rave about it with no crisis of conscience. He smashed any bias concerns straight into orbit.

It’s a simple concept: This is his best material, captured in his best forum. It’s recorded mostly live, on tape, with bassist Clark Singleton and drummer Dennis Holm. Just three guys in the same room, blowing your hair back with dirty, deep-fried American rock and roll.

But any live performance in the 33-year-old’s decade-long career as a supposed “up-and-comer” would qualify as that. The record’s difference is Jared James Nichols’ growth. His playing, always his obvious strength, has finally achieved guitar hero heights. His singing has come to the point of being nearly as good as his playing. But the songwriting is his biggest, and most important, leap.

From opener “My Delusion,” you can hear the grit of early Aerosmith, Ted Nugent and Mountain, with some Southern rock thrown in. It’s difficult to believe he was born in 1989. There’s a new, rougher edge in both guitar tones and vocals. The band performs as a power trio, just loose enough to swing but tight enough to cover everything necessary.

“Easy Come, Easy Go” is a double whammy of playing and vocals that should go over well in Southern amphitheaters. Nichols sounds like he’s constantly pushing both; there’s no coasting. One of the differences in 2023 is that he’s writing fuller, additional parts in his songs, but–as shown here–he’s squeezing more out of his solos.

“Down the Drain” is a bit more controlled, a set-up for the nasty riff-hook. This, like a lot of his stuff, is designed to pump up an audience, without lulls. His guitar is like a second singer weaved into choruses.

During “Hard Wired,” Nichols is in full guitar hero mode, covered by trudging drumming, as he shows he knows how to finish a riff. Many guitarist-singers write vocal lines to match a riff, which he does, but he’s also learned how to flip that around, which keeps things fresh. And if you didn’t hear it before now, the influence of his friend Zakk Wylde makes itself pretty clear here. It’s a great combination.

“Bad Roots,” is almost straight hard rock with up and down dynamic chunks and big power drumming. You wait for the build to the solo and it arrives perfectly structured, without enough repeating lines to get tedious.

“Skin ‘N Bone,” which was released as a single last year, could’ve been peeled from Aerosmith’s Rocks. Nichols actually starts to get into Richie Kotzen double-threat territory here, only with a rhythm section that lays it down to make him sound even better.

“Long Way to Go” shows off his sense of song-building and tone, which is jagged and uncompromising side by side with some great singing.

“Shadow Dancer” might be the record’s only brief lull, until it breaks out near the end. It’s got lots of 1970s Nugent/Mountain sound with a bit more sophistication. Building layers end up making it one of the better songs on the record once it unwinds.

“Good Time Girl” is one for the summer festivals and probably the most rock and roll song on the record. “Hallelujah” shows Nichols pushing his voice, with a double-time solo that nudges into Black Sabbath territory. He just absolutely shreds it, which is a great build-up for “Saint or Fool,” on which Nichols plays like the angry protagonist with an empty bottle in his hand and the devil on his shoulder. It’s a nasty song that kicks and pushes its way into an aggressive, almost pleading solo.

Album ender “Out of Time” is a more deliberate showcase of how far his songwriting has come. The changes all fit together nicely in a song that’s as much a layered composition as anything. Without too much repeating, it’s an approach meant to appeal to a listener’s emotions. It’s a great way to finish off the record.

Follow music critic Tony Hicks at Twitter.com/TonyBaloney1967.