F**k me it’s hot out there today! And while some would argue that eight new slabs of red-hot rock’n’roll isn’t the best antidote to the UK’s current heatwave, we beg to differ. Maybe, in fact, the only way to counteract truly scorching heat, is with MORE scorching heat. Embrace it. Fight fire with fire. Go for the burn. Light my fire. Here comes the sun, and it’s hotter than hell… okay, you get the idea.
Laurence Jones won last week’s competition, galloping to victory with Anywhere With Me, followed by Massive Wagons’ Fuck The Haters in second place and Brave Rival joining the party in third with Thin Ice. Congratulations all round!
Check out Laurence’s winning track below, then dive into this week’s new selection of delicious rock treats – not forgetting to vote for your favourite at the foot of the page. Who will emerge victorious in next week’s results? We have literally no idea. The power is in your hands…
Larkin Poe - Blood Harmony
They’ve become Youtube stars for their covers, but this is proof (for anyone who needs it) that Larkin Poe have a healthy share of songwriting chops. The title track from their next album (due out in November), Blood Harmony finds the Lovell sisters hitting a new high, infusing their ballsy blues rock base with extra rich depth and southern mystique. “Of all the songs I’ve ever written, I’m particularly proud of this one,” singer/guitarist Rebecca says. “I cannot wait to sing it loudly with all of our chosen family out on the road.”
Skid Row - Tear It Down
Now bearing the magic touch of (former H.e.a.t singer) Erik Gronwall on vocals, Skid Row sound better than they have in years on Tear It Down – with the whole band raising their game around their new young frontman, and a house literally being torn down behind them (hell, who said these guys had to be subtle?). Ultra-catchy, beefed up and badass, it bodes well for their new album The Gang’s All Here and then some. They sound like a gang again. Yours to own in full on October 14.
Palaye Royale - Fever Dream
Perhaps the biggest, grandest statement these Las Vegas brothers have made to date, Fever Dream leans more into their glam rock theatre side than their scrappier ‘art punk' one. If you like The Struts and My Chemical Romance, this’ll make your day. Say the band: “For the first time in a long time the writing and crafting of the songs carry a sense of hope. We truly seek to inspire those who listen to it to embrace the testament, those who may be lost there is always a light at the end of darkness.”
The Chats - I’ve Been Drunk In Every Pub In Brisbane
If you know these Aussie punks already, you’ll know what to expect. If you don’t, the title pretty much spells it out. Billed as “an entirely unironic celebration of frontman Eamon Sandwith’s first year or two in his new home city”, I’ve Been Drunk In Every Pub In Brisbane sounds exactly as you’d expect it to – fast, loud and messy, with the sort of insistent hook that might be a deliberate metaphor for the thumping hangovers that resulted from this period of excess...or maybe it's just good fun.
Kitten Pyramid - Jalapenos
In their new single/video, British pop-prog oddballs Kitten Pyramid take us into a vision of 2050 – one in which meat-eaters are hunted by a vegan army, stunned by bullets made of jalapenos (yes, jalapenos, as in spicy peppers) before being checked into rehab. Sounds weird. Is weird. But it's also a rousing avant-pop plea for calm and consideration for the future – its sugared eccentricity acting as a Trojan horse for super-sharp songwriting. And while the message is dead serious it’s (thankfully) hard to be too chin-stroking with such lyrics as ‘We never knew they would be heroes/taking us out with jalapenos’.
Briston Maroney - Paradise
Bursting back into our lives with a spring in his step and hot summer sunsets in his eyes, Briston Maroney is back with a confessional, cute yet cool festival season anthem that befits the whimsical meadow scenes in the accompanying video. It’s all crying out for inclusion in a coming-of-age indie film soundtrack. A sound that he began to cultivate as a kid in sweaty, noisy house parties in Nashville, Maroney’s DIY roots seemingly laid a free-spirited foundation for the alt pop rock style he’s been honing ever since.
Psychlona - 1975
Aiming to capture the soul of “rock's most decadent, mystical, and formative decade”, 1975 is a woozy yet hefty ode to that bygone magical musical time. Counteracting far-out sensibilities with canyon-sized guitar chops, it’s the sort of thing that might have happened if Uncle Acid & The Deadbeats stared into lava lamps for a week, grew their hair even longer… and then bulked up in the gym. Tasty.
Laura Evans - State Of Mind
In another, very different life, Welsh-born Laura Evans was an actress with credits including The Basil Brush Show. Now, as a singer/songwriter, she makes a little like Stevie Nicks jamming with Blackberry Smoke, embracing notes of americana, pop and bluesy rock'n'roll – with groovy, rocky guitars and a highly hummable melody. No furry, foxy friends in sight. “The song was inspired by time spent living in Los Angeles,” explains Laura. “I was high on love, lost in a state of mind." Catch her on tour in the UK in October, opening for Canadian blueser Matt Andersen.
