Heart - Beautiful Broken
This track is a raw, muscular look at a ripped and torn beauty, and it’s not just us saying that - it’s Heart’s Ann Wilson herself. Here, Ann and sister Nancy have opened up the studio guesthouse for Metallica man James Hetfield, and he sounds like he’s having a very nice time indeed, thank you very much.
Franklin Zoo - It’s Not Me
Straight Outta Copenhagen come Franklin Zoo, who may or may not have been named after the zoo of the same name in Boston. Either way, it makes it harder to find them on Google, and that’s a shame, because It’s Not Me is a ferocious beast indeed, with guitars that chug and solos that shriek and a video featuring a half-naked man attempting to escape a forest. And it sounds like a long-lost Soundgarden song.
Beware of Darkness - Muthafucka
This video features lots of kittens, and that’s probably all you need to know in order to enjoy its sweary magnificence. Although there’s the song, too, and this sounds like The Sweet and The Struts and will probably end up strutting its sweet way into your eardrums like a well-targeted glam rock cotton bud.
Rooney - My Heart Beats 4 U
Remember Rooney? We do. And now they’re back, although there’s only one of them. Band mastermind Robert Schwartzman is now steering the good ship Rooney all by himself, and it sounds very much as if he’s piloting things in the right direction. Big melody, an even bigger chorus, and extra points for rhyming “chorus goes” with “Manilow.”
The Pinx - Southern Gent
We’re always weary of bands who mention The MC5 in their press releases, but Southern Gent does indeed burn with the same kind of intensity as the Motor City Quintet, the result of “five years of touring, burning up the highways of the American South”. The video features scenes from Frankenstein Created Bikers, a recent movie described as “a seedy tale of really awful people doing rotten things.” Sounds like fun.
Crobot - Not For Sale
Hurray! Crobot (aka the grooviest men in Pennsylvania) are back! And judging by this swaggering shot of heavy hoodoo – taken from upcoming album Welcome To Fat City – they bring delectable goods. Lovely artwork too, drawn by guitarist Chris Bishop (if a pipe-smoking fish with a moustachioed man’s face isn’t the mark of a band who’ve smoked a few ‘big cigarettes’, we don’t know what is).
Jeff Angell’s Staticland - Everything Is Wrong
Like John Lee Hooker meets the Jesus And Mary Chain meets something altogether more psychedelic, Everything Is Wrong is a messy blast of trudging blues that comes drenched in feedback and organ squelches. Think Canned Heat’s On The Road Again, but with post-traumatic stress disorder.
The Cadillac Three - Drunk Like You
We’re rather fond of this Nashville trio, so were delighted when this little gem popped up on Soundcloud. A more steely-eyed, pensive offering than those on their previous album – but still full of lovely Southern grit – it’s an intriguing introduction to their forthcoming new album, Bury Me In My Boots. The sound of a band moving forward, without losing soul or substance.
