Black Foxxes Husk
Black Foxxes frontman Mark Holley wrote their debut album I’m Not Well as he fought back from debilitating mental
health issues. And from the larynx-flaying vocal to the buzz-saw guitar break, this single sounded like the best kind of
primal-scream therapy.
Black Stone Cherry The Rambler
A moment of reflection to conclude their raucous Kentucky album, The Rambler said it all with little more than a strummed acoustic guitar, a lone fiddle and Chris Robertson’s lovelorn vocal. Described by bassist Jon Lawhon as “a tortured soul song”, it spoke to anyone whose roving instincts have ruined their life.
Devin Townsend Project Transdermal Celebration
With his seventeenth album Transcendence, Devin Townsend declared his intention to “get over that need to be that controlling prog dude”. You felt him unclench on this cover of the Ween original. A gloriously devil-may-care finalé, with both fists in the air and the anthemics turned up full.
Radiohead Burn The Witch
The opening track on new album A Moon Shaped Pool, Burn The Witch was both eerie and utterly compelling, from the flesh-creeping strings to the video that saw Trumpton-style models burnt alive. It can be frustrating being a Radiohead fan – but not this year.
The Temperance Movement A Pleasant Peace I Feel
The White Bear album announced The Temperance Movement as a band outgrowing the pigeonhole the media put them in. With its ethereal guitar chimes, cascading harmonies and visceral beats, A Pleasant Peace I Feel was its most open-minded moment, and a track that defied you to dismiss them as just blues-rockers.
Kings Of Leon Reverend
The fourth single from the Kings’ restorative Walls album was also the best, fusing epic guitars with lyrics saluting murdered cult country singer Blaze Foley. “He was a troubled guy with a really beautiful voice,” noted Caleb Followill. “When he sang, it felt like he was talking to you.”
