Happy new year folks, hope you're all suitably refreshed after the festive period (we almost cried when our alarm went off this morning, but we're getting there...). Now, how about some tunes? Our top three from the pre-Christmas edition of TOTW, as voted for by you, are as follows:
3. Monster Truck - Devil Don’t Care
2. Rival Sons - Feral Roots
1. Jacob Reese Thornton - Run Rudolph Run
Congratulations Jacob on making the no.1 spot, and to Rival Sons and Monster Truck on well-earned second and third places - top tracks all round. So, who will you guys rate highest this week? Get a load of the delicious slices of turkey...sorry, rock'n'roll, listed below and vote for your favourite at the foot of this page. But first, a final spin of 2018's final (suitably festive) first-prize winner Jacob Reese Thornton.
The Raconteurs - Sunday Driver
After a healthy tenure spent dipping into various genres (but relatively little all-out rock’n’roll), it’s great to see Jack White really rocking out again, seemingly very happy to be playing with Brendan Benson, Jack Lawrence and Patrick Keeler again. Summoning a surprising amount of Rolling Stones-y sass and style – albeit with a cutting edge Vogue-friendly makeover – this half of their new double-A side has got us excited for the new album (their first in over a decade) due this year.
Girish and The Chronicles - Rock the Highway
We’ve been enjoying these guys at TOTW for a while now, so were delighted when this new blast of gung-ho, 80s-tastic rock popped up on our radar. If you’re feeling a little sluggish post-Christmas (and by that we mean blearily heaving yourself out of hobbit-like meal schedules, ritual daytime drinking and increasingly luxuriant lie-ins), this is what you need. Play it NOW.
Paul McCartney - Who Cares
Macca stars as some sort of freaky therapist type, opposite Emma Stone as his on-edge client, in this new video shot by La La Land cinematographer Linus Sandgren. The actual song kicks in as we’re led from shrink’s office into a surrealist world of mime artists, card cut-outs and scenes of artfully macabre chaos. One of our favourites from Egypt Station, it’s an infectious, glam-tinged foot-stomper to blow away the cobwebs.
DeMona - Viper Attack
Hooky, spiky fare from Sweden now. Singer/guitarist/mastermind Mona Lindgren looks like some sort of Fergie-meets-Gwen Stefani lovechild, but musically she deals in a cool mix of chugging classic rock, 50s-infused vocal harmonies and stabbing garage blues vibes. Good chops, stylish pipes, a likeable level of 'fuck you' attitude... She's got something, we think.
Z-Band - Spread Your Love
Sharp, hooky rock from Belgium now, which makes us think of what Audioslave or Alice In Chains might've sounded like if they'd jammed with Royal Republic (at their more brooding moments). Accompanied by a video depicting shady underground laboratory work and admirably committed dance-offs, it'll become one of your first ear worms of the year before you know
Vandoliers - Troublemaker
Described as ‘Converse cowboys’ and ‘the next wave of Texas music’, among other things, Vandoliers are part of a gutsy new generation of Southern music that stems as much from punk as old country schools of thought. This latest single combines Dropkick Murphys-esque spit and shoutiness with rockabilly rhythms in one rollickingly rootsty package.
Sonny Jim - Don’t Know What You Got Until It’s Gone
No this isn’t some kind of Big Yellow Taxi/Joni Mitchell rehash. Quite the contrary; this is straight-up, bullet-between-the-eyes rock from Welsh rockers Sonny Jim. Rooted in a deliciously classic riff, it’s quite possibly what AC/DC would sound like if they had a brooding, contemporary makeover (which we realise sounds highly questionable on paper, but honestly it’s very good). New album due this year, so keep your eyes peeled...
Rickard Brorsson - Fly Bird
His name is Rickard Brorsson and he’s on a Rock N’ Roll Mission – as the title of the Swede’s new EP suggests. Opener Fly Bird, which we're leaving you with this week, is a jolly piece of jangling Status Quo-esque rock’n’roll, all hip-shaking boogie and warmly nostalgic strutting.
