Welcome to our latest edition of Tracks of the Week - in which we recognise some of the best new rock'n'roll out now (from across the spectrum), then ask you guys to pick a winner. Last week you voted this lot into your top three:
3. Clutch - Gimme The Keys
2. Black Coffee - I Barely Know Her
1. Ghost - Dance Macabre
Super stuff all round. But who will sway your vote this week? Have a listen to the selection below, then vote for your favourite at the foot of this page. Right after you've had one more listen to last week's first prize winners Ghost...
Vodun – Spirit’s Past
Now that’s how you do rock in 2018: with the fattest guitar grooves and a vibrant explosion of tribal vibes and dystopian imagery. Chantal Brown and co won us over in style with 2016’s Possession, and now they’re back with more – and possibly better, if this first taste of their upcoming album is anything to go by. Just the kind of commanding war cry we all need sometimes. Hell yeah!
Hightown Parade – Silhouette
Conjuring a similarly feel-good buzz to the likes of The Struts (if they’d been styled by 90s goths) this driving shot of rock’n’roll endorphins makes a strong showcase for the Brighton foursome. Frontman Chris Payn is the star of the show – strutting around like a glammed up Joe Perry, fresh from a West End run – but his bandmates are no bookends either, oozing theatrical yet dirty punch. Keep an ear out for their debut album, due for release this year.
Blame Candy – Pathetic
Now for something else you can dance to, courtesy of Philadelphia’s Blame Candy – and Bowie and Bolan’s wardrobes, as this video suggests. If the '70s glam rock cast were reborn as indie scenesters (the lovable, fun-loving kind, who write really catchy tunes), in a disco, they might have sounded like this. This, we feel, is A Good Thing.
Devin Townsend Project – Truth
For all his naffing around with alien puppets and fart gags, Devin Townsend has a brilliantly bold, inventive musical mind. How great, then, that he was able to embrace this with a huge-scale spectacle of band, orchestra and choir – filmed last in year in Plovdiv, Bulgaria. You can buy the full live DVD on July 6, but this instrumental highlight (part of a fan-requested set, performed in addition to the night's 20th anniversary performance of DTP album Ocean Machine) should pique your tastebuds for now...
Gwyn Ashton – In Your Blood
For one guy with a guitar, a kick drum and a bunch of pedals, Aussie garage-blues rocker Gwyn Ashton makes a heck of a sound. Mixing screaming slide guitar and delta blues with gritty garage rock sensibilities, In Your Blood is an urgent fistful of rootsy, six-string oomph.
Well Hung Heart – Obey
Wait, isn’t that Noodles from The Offspring? Yes it is. But alongside his wide-eyed, ever-so-slightly-Orwellian newsreader cameo you’ll find quality boot-stomping garage rock cooked up by Greta Valenti, Robin Davey and co. And some artistically dark, blood-spattered action in the video. Think No Doubt at their rockiest, but bluesier and smokier; especially thanks to some tasty guitar licks from Davey. Nice.
Blackberry Smoke – Best Seat In The House
Dulcet tones and acoustic layers now from Atlanta’s beloved Southern rock maestros – cut live at Southern Ground. If you seek a warm n’ fuzzy sense of wellbeing this Friday afternoon, look no further. And catch ‘em live at Ramblin’ Man Fair on Sunday 1st July.
Brett Dennen – Already Gone
If we’re honest, the video for this is a big part of its appeal – though Dennen’s sunkissed brand of jangly indie-meets-americana rock’n’roll is obviously key. We won’t spoil it by revealing all here, but just know that it’s genuinely very sweet and uplifting. Real good mood material.
