We’re currently counting down the best tracks of the year, and we’re getting close to the the top ten. But not quite. One rule: only one track is featured per artist. Today, we pull numbers 20-11 from our magic hat of Rock.
20: Shinedown – Black Cadillac
Sharp, slick piece of quality ‘bro-rock’ from butchest Florida, this showed off Shinedown at their infectious, soaring best.
19: Wilson – Right To Rise
This was the moment when Detroit’s Wilson grew from hard rock frat-boys into beefy, groovy men with serious tunes. Still party-friendly as hell, though.
18:** Killing Joke** – I Am The Virus
Jaz Coleman barks ominous warnings about neo-con lies and global insurgency on this super-heavy weapons-grade anthem from Pylon, the Joke’s third album since reuniting in their classic late 1970s line-up.
17: Black Star Riders – Finest Hour
Aptly named, the highest compliment that can be paid to the soaring stand out track on BSR’s second album is that their old mucker Phil Lynott himself would have been proud to have penned it.
16: We Are Harlot – One More Night
Metalcore kid Danny Worsnop became an 80s-charged, hard rock man with We Are Harlot. Based on this mighty, riffy piece of party-starting oomph, it was a wise move.
15. Steven Wilson – Routine
A story unto itself within the grisly sprawl of Hand. Cannot. Erase.,_ Routine_ spliced three-way harmonies with a neck-tingling solo from Guthrie Govan. “It was a real ambition,” noted Wilson, “to pull something like that off.”
14: Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats – S.O.B
“Son of a bitch, give me a drink” was one of the more memorable couplets of 2015, courtesy of one of the most startling transformations, as Rateliff morphed from glum troubadour to testifyin’ soul man.
13: Vintage Trouble – Another Baby
Toe-tapping soul and tasty rock’n’roll from these glamorously retro Californians. Try playing it and not smiling, as Ty Taylor and co shake and shimmy into your brainspace. Seriously try…
12: The Struts – _Could Have Been Me _
Remember when The Darkness first burst onto the scene, in a gleefully uncool blaze of glitter and great tunes? There’s more than a whiff of that about The Struts, as seen in this OTT but oh-so-loveable gem.
11: The Darkness – Barbarian
Barbarian! If a song ever deserved an explanation mark, it was this, a howling invocation of Norse invasion delivered by a band once again in full control of their magnificent, tightly-trousered mojo.
