Hey folks, hope you’ve all had excellent weekends and are ready for Classic Rock’s latest selection of new must-hear tunes. We’ve just got back from Ramblin Man Fair and had a brilliant time soaking up music from veterans and fresh faces; proof, for anyone who needed it, that rock is in a pretty fucking good state (and also that this whole scene seems to attract a lot of lovely people, which is no bad thing).
But first to last week’s top three as voted for by you (and it was a LOT of you who voted this week), in reverse order:
3. Samantha Fish - Bulletproof
2. Scarlet Rebels - No One Else To Blame
1. Status Quo - Backbone
Congratulations to the mighty Quo! And very well-played to Scarlet Rebels and Samantha Fish, who achieved results that would’ve earned them first place in other weeks. Now, get yer laughing gear round this lot and vote for your favourite at the foot of this page, right after a spin of last week’s winners. Enjoy...
The Raconteurs - Help Us Stranger
The latest single (and the title track) from The Raconteurs’ latest album has put a spring in our step this Monday. Teamed with pleasingly retro, tongue-in-cheek animation – its acoustic jangling built on with bluesy 70s licks – it’s a fizzling, sunny stroke of Beatles-y rock’n’roll and hippielicious looseness.
Henry’s Funeral Shoe - High Shoulders Everywhere
The Welsh brothers continue to show off their most ambitious album yet with this propulsive, kick-yer-teeth-in newbie – whilst making it clear that the feral blues rock slide and energy we love ‘em for isn’t going anywhere any time soon. Proof that simple ingredients cooked really well often reap the most satisfying results.
The Southern River Band - Second Best
The band name might suggest Deep South throwbackery (though these guys are actually from Perth, Australia) but in truth this is more of a power-pop feast. It’s delightfully nostalgic though, of course, with twin-lead ‘guitarmonies’ and sunkissed vocals coming out of its classic rocking ears. All as an artfully shot tale of heartache, fights and spaghetti-guzzling unfolds (just watch the video and see…).
Texas Hippie Coalition - Dirty Finger
There’s smoke, there’s motorbikes, there’s whiskey, there’s steaks… And leather, tattoos and beards – beards as far as the eye can see. Even before you’ve got to the motherload of Kraken-stomping southern hard rock involved, this might be one of the ‘manliest’ things committed to Youtube in recent weeks. In an utterly fun, good-natured way. Good ‘n heavy.
Austin Gold - Caught On You
We saw these guys open the main stage at Ramblin Man Fair on Sunday. They totally nailed it, so it seemed fitting that we include their rousing new single today. A heavier, organ-whirling step on from 2017’s excellent Before Dark Clouds, it sounds a bit like something the Foo Fighters might have written after a day spent inhaling riffy 70s rock and soul. Shweet.
Dead Feathers - Horse And Sands
Something darker and woozier now, from a corner of Chicago stuck proudly somewhere in the late 60s. Definitely one for the vampires among you who just wish the summer would do one already, though to be honest we reckon the fuzzy, head-swirling psych and underground hoodoo should have a wider outreach.
A'priori - Black Church
That track title and Latin-based band name might suggest ‘Italian black metal’, but these Blackpool rockers (while they are heavy) nod far more to the likes of Audioslave and Stone Temple Pilots. The video opens with a Sartre quote but quickly plunges into bullshit-free riffage and a moody headbanger of a tune.
Cherie Currie & Brie Darling - Do It Again
We’ll leave you with this breezy, feel-good take on the Kinks’ classic by ex-Runaway Cherie Currie and Fanny Walked The Earth drummer Darling (she’s also worked with a tonne of others including ELO, Carole King, Glen Campbell and more). One to play while driving to the coast, windows rolled down and shades on – or just in your back garden with a glass of something cold (still wear your shades though, of course, because you’re cool and you CAN!).
