Last week’s winners were Tequila Mockingbyrd, followed by All Them Witches in second place and Me & That Man in third. So who’ll do it for you this week? We’ve got some absolute bangers in store for you, so listen in and vote for your favourite at the foot of this page. And if you really like what you hear, why not check out upcoming albums or gigs by your band/s of choice? We spend a lot of time lamenting dead people in our world, so it’s reassuring to have some new, living voices to turn to as well.
Royal Thunder – April Showers
It’s not the most instant track on WICK – Royal Thunder’s upcoming third album – but it’s easily one of the most affecting. That tantalising build up, Mlny Parsonz’ gut-grabbing battle cry of a voice, those brooding guitar chords (part Zeppelin heavy rock, part woozy psychedelia)… Profoundly moving stuff, from (to use a cliched but apt expression) ‘a very real place’.
Biters – Stone Cold Love
This new glam stomper (from Atlanta upstarts Biters) is sooo T.Rex-y you’ll glance around to see if Marc Bolan has risen from the grave. Frontman Tuk is on fantastically breathy, Bolan-esque form – you can practically hear him pouting into the microphone – and we can’t wait for the rest of the album, The Future Ain’t What It Used To Be.
The Pretenders – Gotta Wait
A lovely, choppy slice of Chrissie Hynde cool from latest ‘Pretenders’ album Alone, with a new video starring – among many other cut n’ pasted together images – a very big bear. Street-smart, sassy and very likeable.
Danko Jones – My Little RnR
Offstage he’s a more softly spoken soul, but onstage eponymous frontman Danko Jones is a no-holds-barred beast of a man. On this slick, riffy piece of hard rock, he shouts “AAARRRRRGHHH BABY!” with more unbridled gusto than many of his contemporaries dare, and everyone involved seemingly has a thoroughly good time.
BNQT – Restart
If Tame Impala flirted more heavily with 70s rock, and added a splash of glam to the mix, they might have sounded like this. Which makes this sunny tune from indie ‘supergroup’ BNQT a clear winner, in our eyes. Uniting key members of Franz Ferdinand, Midlake, Travis, Band Of Horses and Grandaddy, it’s a considerably groovier, rockier outfit than one might assume.
Black Mirrors – Funky Queen
We premiered this a couple of days ago and have been bobbing our heads along to it ever since, so it seemed only right to include it here. These Belgian renegades have created a shot of propulsive, fuzzy yet extremely catchy hard rock, crowned by Marcella Di Troia’s lungfuls of primal howling. Ones to watch, fo’ sho.
Yellowell – Put Your Weapons Down
These Galway rockers sound so much bigger and better-known than they actually are on this soaring, enormous-sounding piece of rock’n’roll. Plus it’s charged with political intent and aggro, without compromising on infectious tuneage. They’re due to release a full album this year, so keep your eyes peeled…
King Bee – Buzzcut
And now for some filthy, noisy, stoner-blues rock from Brighton duo King Bee. Appropriately enough, there is something of an angry bee quality about this ode to the “buzzcut nation” (think ‘hive of really pissed off bees’ though, rather than ‘singular bee drifting over some daisies’). Rock on.
