Eight songs. Eight videos. Eight reasons to be cheerful. Here’s the very best new music you’ll ever hear on a single webpage this week.
Radkey - Dark Black Makeup “Kids these days, they want it all,” sing brother trio Radkey, on the title track from their forthcoming debut. It probably explains why these kids (they’re all aged between 18 and 22) get stuck into gritty garage, raw punk and suave rock – all at once, without making a ‘punk rock’ record in the Blink 182-y sense. They wanted it all, they made it all, now we can enjoy it all.
Kadavar - The Old Man The Berlin lords of riffy, psychy classic rock return with their new album in August. This taster, The Old Man, puts you in the mind of a witchy dream Black Sabbath probably had in their formative years. Nice.
Tim Bowness - Sing To Me Is there a writer of prettier songs than Tim Bowness? We’re not sure, and we’ve been listening hard. Song To Me is the kind of thing he does so well, coming on like Paddy McAloon raised on a diet of progressive rock and and great sadness.
Costanza Savarese - Dee Italian guitarist Costanza may ooze classical refinement but the former child prodigy is also a huge fan of hard rock, and Rhandy Rhoads in particular. On this cover of Dee Costanza gives the 50-second Blizzard Of Oz track a sweet, stunning spruce-up. Crazy Train next, please!
Black Surf - Lights Out This sounds a lot like Weezer, and by that we mean THIS SOUNDS A LOT LIKE WEEZER. Is this a bad thing? No. In a ideal world many more bands would sound a lot like Rivers and the gang. Unlike the Sweater Song hitmakers, Black Surf are from Leeds, but have a gift for thumping great melody that clearly threatens to propel them far beyond Yorkshire’s shapely borders.
Demob Happy - Wash It Down Just when we thinking about calling the emergency services to complain about the lack of gigantic riffs in this week’s selection of new music, along came Brighton alt-rock soldiers Demob Happy to pull us out of the sonic quicksand. Wash It Down pummels, it thrusts, it lurches and it mauls, and it’s heavier than a whale on a weighbridge.
Rock Candy Funk Party - Don’t Be Stingy With The SMPTE Holy crap, is that Joe Bonamassa – seriously serious maestro of the blues – getting his groove on?? Teamed with the likes of Tal Bergman and Ron DeJesus, JoBo strongly implies that all he really wants to do is get funky. Or join Chic. And guess what? It’s pretty great, in a fabulously familiar sort of way – part underground jazz club, several parts 70s/80s disco, and a whole lotta Cheshire Cat-grinning funk. And we’re confident that the pretty ladies in the video were hired purely for their musical skills…
Chris Squire - Hold Out Your Hand/You By My Side Nearly a week on, we’re still reeling from the news of Yes co-founder Chris Squire’s passing. In 1975, while Yes were on one of their ‘breaks’, Squire recorded his debut solo album, Fish Out Of Water. Featuring an orchestra, the St Paul’s Cathedral organ and various Yes buddies, it’s a suitably grand and heartfelt affair - and the lyrics to this twofer are especially poignant in tribute to this much-missed prog giant.
