Rock took a back seat to Christmas over the last couple of weeks, stuffing its face with turkey and mince pies before expiring on New Years Eve in a pool of excess and broken promises. But now it’s back! Rock is staring down 2016 like a musical sniper with greatness it its sights, and here are the first eight targets.
Warren Haynes - God Dust Woman
If there’s anyone better at knocking out cover versions that Gov’t Mule’s Warren Haynes and his ever-changing congregation of musical chums, they’ve certainly not crossed our path this week. Here, WH tackles the Fleetwood Mac classic with magnificent, carefree aplomb.
The Dandy Warhols - You Are Killing Me
Remember The Dandy Warhols? The 90s/early 00s indie kings behind Vodafone theme song Bohemian Like You, and the like? They’re back, with a nicely shoegaze-y yet hooky piece of modern psychedelic pop-rock. Fuzzy yet oddly cuddly – a warmer, fuzzier kind of killing.
The Stone Foxes - Eye For Love
This is a couple of months old, so many apologies for not bringing it to you sooner, but we only just finished watching all of the music videos on YouTube. This sounds like The White Stripes played by The Arctic Monkeys, with more grit than a freshly-replenished grit lorry.
Svartanatt - Dead Man’s Alley
Straight outta Stockholm with a copy of the late 1960s concealed in their backpack, Svartanatt (it means ‘black night’, apparently) conjure up the early days of Rock with a track that’s three quarters garage and nine fifths psychedelia. It’s certainly much better than our grasp of basic math.
Abbath - Ashes Of The Damned
Ahh, Abbath. Here he is, back once again with the ill behaviour. This time he’s driving his usual Black Metal steamroller with wild and dangerous abandon, but with some unexpected pretend brass bits adding salt to the on-board cauldron.
Vanity Blvd – Had Enough
More hard rockin’ fun from our Scandinavian cousins, as Had Enough slithers its way into our ears via an atmospheric beginning and a riff so greasy it must surely have rolled itself in streaky bacon before committing itself to tape. Monster chorus, too.
The Fallen State - Sinner
We featured The Fallen State on one of our cover CDs last year, and here they are again, back with a new track that thumps along like a kangaroo in Dr Martens™ before launching into a chorus so uplifting we’ve had to peel ourselves from the ceiling.
Hey! Hello! - Automatic Love
And now a track from our current CD, as Ginger Wildheart introduces the current version of Hey! Hello! with a track that starts like The Who playing AC/DC’s Thunderstruck before launching into a song so infused with the very essence of rock’n’roll it was probably composed round Jerry Lee Lewis’s basement. Like pouring Jack Daniels directly into your ears.
