Hello folks, hope you all had excellent bank holidays (and condolences to those who had to work/spend hours in traffic/entertain difficult in-laws etc) and are in the mood for some new tunes – for there's good stuff to be had here...
First, however, let's look at the bands you voted into your top three last week. In reverse order they are:
3. Ryan Hamilton & The Harlequin Ghosts - Mamacita
2. Joyous Wolf - Quiet Heart
1. Ulysses - Dragons
Congratulations to Ulysses, who romped to victory with the rip-roaring Dragons. And bravo to worthy second and third place winners Joyous Wolf and Ryan Hamilton, quality stuff all round. Get a load of this week's selection, right after a victory spin of last week's champs. Enjoy...
Hollywood Vampires - Who’s Laughing Now
Easter’s done, so what’s next… Halloween? Excellent, and what better way to gear up for it (way way ahead, admittedly) with the deliciously dark new Hollywood Vampires single. Drawing from the respective experience and dirty yet debonair swagger of its three A-list pillars – Johnny Depp, Alice Cooper and Joe Perry – it’s a promising first taste of mostly-originals second record, Rise.
Bang Bang Romeo - Cemetery
The title may say ‘somber slowie’ (or the ferocious Cemetery Gates by Pantera, depending on your own rock/metal parameters) but this latest track from Yorkshire’s pop-meets-rock n’ soul stars-of-tomorrow is an upbeat, heartwarming affair. Singer Anastasia Walker is the main attraction here (with her healthy dose of Amy Winehouse depth), teamed with sweet, warming pop rock guitar to highly lovable effect.
Rival Sons - Too Bad
The latest cut from Rival Sons’ latest pie (i.e. new album Feral Roots), Too Bad is a gutsy Zeppelin-infused rocker in the main hook, and a masterclass in soulful melancholia everytime Jay opens his mouth. And Scott Holiday’s guitar solo screeches, swoops and hits all the right spots.
The Vintage Caravan - On The Run
Vintage by name, vintage by nature, sound and look, the Icelandic classic rock trio upped their songwriting game on their last album Gateways, as this moody single reflects. They must have been fucking freezing shooting the first half of the video mind you, though it does look dead rugged and atmospheric...
Black Tree Vultures - Ode To Johanna
Next up we’ve got some chunky, riffy hard rock with a thick layer of metallic meat from the UK, courtesy of Black Tree Vultures. Based on his performance in the video you could never accuse singer Celyn Beynon of lacking confidence, and it’s not the most novel premise (there’s a mysterious lady, she meets the singer, much gazing ensues…) but if manly no-bullshit beef with a modern edge is your thing, look this way….
The Silver Echo - Rock’n’Roll Queen
This is our first taste of San Francisco rockers The Silver Echo, and we rather like it. With a choppy bluesy opening and catchy chorus that leads into an unexpectedly atmospheric bridge section with smoky lead guitar (kinda made us think of Joe Satriani, at his spacier moments), it’s a stylish, catchy piece of modern rock’n’roll with shades of grungy distress. Like what you hear? Check out more on their album, Aurora, which is out now.
Joyous Wolf - Mother Rebel
We liked these guys so much last week that we wanted to show you something else from their brand new EP, Place In Time. Mother Rebel continues the California-based rockers’ winning streak, in Slash n’ Myles-nodding style - plus dirty, gloriously louche shots of bluesy slide guitar. Nice.
Jacob Reese Thornton - Sketches Of You
How about an infuriatingly young, talented dude to finish off? The influence of Santana and Lindsey Buckingham on the US guitar prodigy’s latest single have (of course) been pointed out, but not without reason - a Latin-infused, acoustically rooted slice of good stuff, you feel like those guys would be quite happy to see players like this picking up the torch.
