On a day that The Beatles and the Rolling Stones both won Grammy Awards, proving once again event organisers have their heads firmly wedged into the distant past where rock music is concerned, we're delighted to bring you music from bands who haven't been around for more than six decades. They make up our Tracks Of The Week selection, and they're below.
But first, last week's triumphant trio. Ricky Warwick's horse broke the tape first, a length ahead of Dorthy feat. Slash, with Larkin Poe coming in third. So here's Ricky again. Well done to him.
Does that 25% tariff apply to Rush albums? Fans need to know.
Joe Bonamassa and Sammy Hagar - Fortune Teller Blues
In which Joe Bonamassa and Sammy Hagar combine their considerable musical might on a song that lurches slowly into gear, with a malevolent JoBo riff providing the underlay for a SaHa vocal that roars and soars and suggests his talents remain entirely undiminished. The sound has moved on a few months from the late 60s British blues explosion sound that's proved such fertile ground for Bonamassa of late, and is instead rich in early 70s blues-rock vibes. Someone pass the patchouli.
Saxon - 1066
Only Saxon could write about the year in which the Anglo-Saxon rule of England came to an end and make it sound like a celebration, but that's Biff and the boys for ya. 1066, which is powered by a riff Rudolf Schenker would be proud of, is also something of a history lesson, in which the listener is advised that "Harold had beaten the Vikings at Stamford / Routing Hardrada the end of an age" and "The arrows came flying and pierced Harold's eye / The Normans were victors, the end of the Saxons." Terrific stuff.
Kelsy Karter & The Heroines - Daughter Of The Night
The geographically extravagant Kelsy Karter (born in New Zealand, raised in Australia, Los Angeles-based) and her band The Heroines (from Derby, UK), are back with a thoroughly slick performance video, offering yet more evidence that Karter and her krazy krew are ones to watch. It's essentially a pop song dressed up in rock star clothing, but we love a good chorus so we're not complaining. New album Love Made Me Do It came out on Friday.
The Last Internationale - Master
New York's The Last Internationale are always worth a listen, and new song Master is no exception. Singer Delila Paz delivers a typically tour-de-force performance above a musical backing that's so epic and thoroughly modern we can see it soundtracking the end credits of a movie about a giant space battle where the universe almost ends but is saved at the last minute. "We've played this song live on acoustic once, but we updated the lyrics and recorded a full-band studio version for you," say the band. "Who's ready?" Well, we are, clearly.
Manic Street Preachers - Brushstrokes Of Reunion
The Manics compare the sound of Brushstrokes Of Reunion to The Waterboys and early R.E.M., but we're also hearing The Cure, as if Robert Smith had temporarily stepped out of the sessions that produced In Between Days and James Dean Bradfield stepped in to rattle off some guide vocals. Despite the fact that the Manics of 2025 don't sound much like the Manics of 1994, some of their trademarks – the epic sweep of their writing, the jubilant choruses – are still very much in place.
The Wildhearts - Troubador Moon
According to The Wildhearts' label, new album Satanic Rites Of The Wildhearts harks back to the sound of their classic debut Earth vs The Wildhearts, and so we're obviously all in a tizz. "It’s a hard rock album for people who love hard rock!” says Ginger Wildheart, in a statement that makes our tiny hearts flutter with anticipation. The proof of the pudding will be in the eating, of course, and Troubador Moon finds frontman Ginger in reliably reliable form – the song is great – but does the sound match the clattering intensity of The Wildhearts' best material? You be the judge.
Motorpsycho - Stanley (Tonight's The Night)
Adventurous Norwegians Motopyscho have now been with us for more than 30 years (still well short of The Beatles' total), and continue to travel to unexpected musical destinations. The band's latest journey "owes quite a lot to Slade and Kiss and other 70s power pop merchants", they say, and we can hear that throughout Stanley (Tonight's The Night), which bumbles along like it's riding a Raleigh Chopper home to watch Ed Stewart and Noel Edmonds present Top Of The Pops during an energy crisis.
Stereophonics - There's Always Gonna Be Something
Make 'em Laugh, Make 'em Cry, Make 'em Wait is the title of the Stereophonics upcoming 13th album, and they remain unwavering in their determination to never travel outside their Stereophonics-shaped box. No excursions into polka or drill'n'bass for Kelly Jones and the other fellas, but then again, why would they? There's Always Gonna Be Something is immediately familiar, like pulling on a lovely warm cardigan and settling down in front of an open fire with a dram of GlenDronach Allardice 18 Single Malt. Slippers optional.
