EP review: Aerosmith & YUNGBLUD – One More Time

Steven Tyler setting foot in PRYZM Kingston was not on our 2025 bingo card. Yet there stood the Aerosmith frontman, perched by the sound desk, watching YUNGBLUD treat fans to an intimate Idols out-store gig.

Three days after both separately played their part in Back To The Beginning, this short extension to Steven’s trip across the pond seemed pretty normal. Who wouldn’t want to catch a glimpse of Dominic Harrison after witnessing that rendition of Changes?

But, unbeknownst to everyone, these two rock icons – who are 49 years apart in age – had teamed up in the studio. One trail of social media breadcrumbs and another stunning MTV VMAs tribute for Ozzy later, their collaboration was revealed. That resultant EP, One More Time, follows on organically from June’s YUNGBLUD album Idols, and its convincing homage to classic rock.

Conversely, it drags new Aerosmith music out of the studio for the first time in 12 years. After their retirement from touring, the title perhaps hints at Steven Tyler and Joe Perry’s last hurrah, passing the torch to 2025’s man of the moment.

Beyond the premise, there is nothing overtly surprising about this EP. It plays into Aerosmith’s strengths, quenching YUNGBLUD’s clear thirst for some sleazier, vintage rock. Harmonising together, he and Steven carry the force of a pride of lions, trading verses on the stunning My Only Angel and yanking the balladry of A Thousand Days to its high bar.

Flanked by some subtle strings, the high-octane Problems moves forward like a propeller, before the Stones-y Wild Woman injects some twang into One More Time. The latter is a welcome change of pace, even if our resident South Yorkshire loudmouth objectively doesn’t suit lyrics like, ‘I got a white horse / I’m a cowboy, baby.’

Concluding with a meat-and-potatoes 2025 version of Aerosmith’s Back In The Saddle, this slick EP serves its purpose, realising this incredible collaboration without dragging it out towards an album of overindulgence. To this end, One More Time feels limited edition, adding another stamp of approval from Boston’s finest that rock’s present and future belongs to YUNGBLUD.

Verdict: 4/5

For fans of: Bon Jovi, Guns N’ Roses, Led Zeppelin

One More Time is released on November 21 via Queen Of Denial

Read this next:

• The People Vs. Joe Perry: The Aerosmith guitar hero on rock’n’roll advice, Wayne’s World and the future
• Guns N’ Roses: Every song on Appetite For Destruction, ranked from worst to best
• YUNGBLUD: “I needed to get my fight back. I’ve always been a fighter, and I’ve found it again”