Every week at Classic Rock we comb through the latest new rock tracks and narrow it down to our top eight, before presenting them to you guys and seeing which you rate the highest. It was a difficult task this week, with a lot of strong contenders, but we reckon we've got a pretty damn good selection for you...
Last week's winners were Ryan Hamilton & The Harlequin Ghosts (feat Kay Hanley), followed by Piston in second place and The Midnight Preachers in third. Congratulations to all three of them! Have a spin of Ryan Hamilton's victorious track below, then check out this week's scorching shortlist and vote for your favourite at the foot of the page.
So, Oh No? Oh yes...
Tyler Bryant & The Shakedown (feat Rebecca Lovell) - Crazy Days
Back in March, the world just plunged into lockdown, Tyler Bryant wrote a loose little jam called Crazy Days, enlisting his wife (also one half of blues rock duo Larkin Poe) Rebecca Lovell on backing vocals. Fast-forward to the present and it’s been beefed up into a proper single – complete with choice slide guitar touches, a slightly faster pace and the sort of feel-good classic rocking energy that nods as much to Tom Petty and Aerosmith as TB’s oft-cited blues influences.
Pre-order the album Pressure, out 16 October.
The OBGMs - Fight Song
We love this single from firebrand Canadian punks The OBGMs (that’s The oOoh Baby Gimme Mores, in case you were wondering). Loud, smart and hooky as hell, it packs a mean punch – the sort of swaggery, dirty punk’n’roll you can giddily dance to and give yourself a kick up the ass with – before leaving you breathless after less than two minutes. Hells yes.
Pre-order the album The Ends, out 30 October.
The Middlenight Men - Rat Star
More highly danceable tuneage now, this time from rising Brit stars The Middlenight Men. The brainchild of seasoned sideman Nick Hughes, TMM make slick, unashamedly gleeful pop rock of which this warm, bouncing glitterbomb of a song is a prime example. If the likes of The Wildhearts, Eureka Machines and Hey! Hello are your jam – their poppiest moments especially – you’ll love this.
Check out band updates and info.
Blues Pills - Rhythm In The Blood
Four years after their last album, Lady In Gold, Blues Pills are back with new music, a rejigged line-up and a renewed lease of life. This is one of our favourite songs from their comeback record, Holy Moly! (out now), and suggests that the time away did them the world of good. When Elin Larsson sings ‘there’s a killer on the loose’ she has an extra level of maturity and menace not seen previously, and it suits her well.
Foxy Shazam - Dreamer
Remember Foxy Shazam? Back when they first emerged in the mid/late 00s, we were very taken with their glitzy, Queen-come-Darkness bravado and canyon-sized tunes. Then, after 2014’s Gonzo, it all went rather quiet. Now they’re back with a gloriously heartfelt, piano-tinkling, trumpet-blasting shot of rock’n’roll theatre – all harmonies blazing and moustaches twirled to perfection. Here’s hoping there’s more to come...
Band updates, music and merch.
The Absurd - Enemy
Moreishly punky, 90s-charged noise now, courtesy of Los Angeles power trio The Absurd. Shouty but super-groovy and melodic, with a pleasingly frenetic, feral streak and energy by the crateful, it sort of makes you think of Iggy & The Stooges having a noisy jam with Nirvana and their mates... not too shabby at all, right?
Band updates, music and merch.
Briston Maroney - Deep Sea Diver
The young Tennessee native (and one-time American Idol contestant)'s latest single is a dulcet, pensive pocket of contemporary roots music that nods to the likes of Jason Isbell and Neil Young. A smart, soulful addition to Nashville’s cerebral songwriter output of recent years, immaculately composed and full of bittersweet heartache.
Briston Maroney updates, music and merch.
Apocalyptica feat Lzzy Hale - Talk To Me
Having first mooted the idea of collaborating some years previously, the Finnish symphonic metallers (or “cello-rockers”) have now teamed up with Halestorm’s Lzzy Hale on their moody, hard-hitting new single. "This song has been in our minds for quite some time and we have been waiting for the right moment to finish it," says Apocalyptica founder Eicca Toppinen, "and getting Lzzy to join us and perform in her outstanding way was a dream come true!"
Band updates, music and merch.
