Last week’s winners were Biters, followed by Roger Waters in second place and Broken Teeth in third. Well done to them all. But who’s impressing you the most this week? We’ve got a super spread of new music here, as ever, so have a listen, judge brutally then vote for your favourite.
First of all, however, let’s have a listen to last week’s champions Biters:
Foo Fighters – Run
OMG, it’s a new Foo Fighters track! Dropped upon The Internet as if from nowhere, in a raging blast of screams, deep grooves and dancing geriatrics (watch the video and see…), Run might not be a favourite with the housewife contingent of Foos fans, but we’re rather taken with it.
GospelbeacH – Hangin’ On
Gorgeous piece of sun-dappled pop rock, straight from the prettiest reaches of the California coastline (think Taylor Locke, The Posies etc etc). Summer in two and a half beautifully harmonized minutes.
Lionize – Blindness To Danger
Maryland’s excellent purveyors of reggae/funk/soul rock return with a rocket-fuelled taste of their upcoming album, Nuclear Soul (due on September 8). Packing just as much tasty colour as their previous work, but with new arena-reaching ambition, it’s a track with size and personality – and a video in which poor old frontman Nate goes through a Rocky-style training sequence, only to have the crap beaten out of him by a scary beefcake.
Dan Raza – Pay Day
Looking at the moody cover shot of (Indian/British singer) Dan with his acoustic, we figured we may have a soft, folky troubadour type on our hands. The reality of Pay Day, however, is much more buoyant, with deliciously rich electric lines cutting through rootsy guitar and fiddle. It’s folk rock with real sparkle. No wonder Neil Young likes him.
Deep Purple – Johnny’s Band
Members of Saxon and Budgie make appearances in this bouncy Purple track – accompanied by a lovingly mocking portrayal of a band suddenly propelled to success, only to eventually collapse in a maelstrom of fights and flying spaghetti, which may or may not refer to a bygone incident between Gillan and Blackmore (read: it totally does…).
Yellowell – Song of Our Century
Full-pelt blast of riffy hard rock, bound in social disenchantment and rabble-rousing oomph – and a pretty full throttle anime video. Big n’ crunchy. Mmmm…
The Fallen State – Four Letter Word
Beefy, brooding shot of hard rock, with that Shinedown-meets-Alter Bridge vibe that suggests they could reach some big crowds. Radio-friendly but bona fide heavy stuff. Groovy.
Federico Paciotti – Vesti la Giubba
Full disclosure: this is quite odd. It’s rock opera, with actual full-blown operatic vocals. And yet it actually works rather well. Paciotti (who looks a bit like Ville Valo crossed with Johannes Eckerström from Avatar) is a superb singer, and the hard rock components are sound as a pound, so do give it a shot. You might be pleasantly surprised…
