We've got a killer selection of new rock tunes for you this week, covering a range of sounds and styles between them. Like your rock'n'roll with a side of soul? Or punk? Or alt? Or sunny pop rock? It's all going on here. But which do YOU like best? Tell us by voting using the poll at the foot of this page.
Last week's winners were Sing Again Syren, followed by Thirteen Stars in second place and Buffalo Summer in third. Congratulations to all three of them! Have a spin of our winners' single Run On Home, then check out this week's shortlist. Enjoy...
Tuk Smith & The Restless Hearts - Lookin' For Love, Ready For War
The bigger, beefier, harder rocking follow-on from Tuk’s glammed-up previous single What Kinda Love. With roughened opening chords straight out of AC/DC’s Rock’n’Roll Singer, you might think it’s another pocketful of raw nostalgia made for dives. Not so. Lookin' For Love… is still as retro as you’d expect from a guy in a skinny scarf with Keith Richards hair, only now it’s punching for arenas.
Hands Off Gretel - She Thinks She’s Punk Rock N’ Roll
If Maria Brink and Kill Bill-era Uma Thurman had a three-way with Satan, at a punk rock night, it might have sounded like this. She Thinks She’s… is over in two fast and furious minutes, but it packs in enough riffy, red-hot rage and spiky charisma to fend off any accusations of prizing style over substance.
The Lemon Twigs - The One
A super-sweet, sunshiney mix of Todd Rungdren and Beach Boys vibes now from New York-based sibling dream team The Lemon Twigs. The kind of warm, classic songwriting you don’t expect this side of the 70s. Want more? Check out their new album, Songs For The General Public, which is out in May.
The Nile Deltas - A Little Soul
A truckload of swagger and groovy soul now, complete with Hammond organ and Joe Walsh/Rocky Mountain Way-esque talkbox stylings, from a band who clearly sold their souls to Free, the Black Crowes and Blackberry Smoke and never looked back. If you like your rock’n’roll served warm, sweet and classic, these are your guys.
Häxan - Skeletons
Two sisters and their mate comprise this power trio from Cardiff, whose new single is a punchy burst of hard rock with metallic fizz that's chockfull of the kind of cool aggro you wished you could externalise as a teenager. Expect modernised flavours of Black Sabbath and Joan Jett – with just a whisper of Paramore – and a chorus that will set up camp in your head and remain there. And actual skeletons, of course.
KOYO - You Said It
The Leeds-based progressive types have upped the alt rock ante on this new one, without losing the melodic allure that drew us in when they first appeared on the scene. Jagged guitar stabs are offset by soft, atmospheric synths to angular but still very accessible effect. There's a new album on the way, too, so watch this space...
1000mods - Pearl
Don’t gloss over that rather nondescript name, because this is really pretty cool. Greek rockers 1000mods come bearing noisy, grungy fare with a rich backdrop of doom, stoner, psychedelic and hard rock sensibilities. Imagine All Them Witches riffing out with Kyuss and you’re in the right ballpark, though there’s also a load of more classic, bluesy rock soloing towards the end. Brilliantly dark video, too.
Sweet Crisis - Rollin’ In It
If you're already feeling worn down by the week, this warming, restorative new single from Cambridge's Sweet Crisis is what you need. All soulful Rainbow-nodding flavours and organ blasts straight out of the Deep Purple playbook, it's delivered with the upbeat enthusiasm of guys who've just come upon this stuff – rather than jaded old hands. Noice.
