In a week in which world peace remained unbrokered, we're delighted to report that our most recent Tracks Of The Week contest ended without any unnecessary bloodshed, as Kip Moore's American Heartbreak defeated Glenn Hughes's Into The Fade by a slender margin.
Halestorm's Like A Woman Can came home in third, only to find another eight candidates in the hallway, each of them primed and ready to embark on a new round of competition.
Here they are. Please allow them into your ears.
The Hives - The Hives Forever Forever The Hives
There’s something oddly lovable about watching Howlin’ Pelle and his merry Swedes serenade – and, ultimately, behead – withered old versions of themselves in royal robes, party-rocking like it’s their last day on earth and finally setting a heap of their own records on fire. They just sound so damn happy. There’s a real sweetness to the razor-garage mayhem at work on this, the title track of their new album. Will they go on forever? With energy like this, you can sort of picture it.
Ashes Of Billy - Rediscover
The young (as in, all-still-in-their-teens young) Dutch trio return with a swaggering old-skool grunge fest, built on some deliciously meaty, chugging riffage and snarling Nirvana-meets-Alice In Chains attitude. “Rediscover is definitely one of our more classic rock’n’roll inspired songs, but with a modern twist,” singer/songwriter Daniel Aabenhus Hermann says. “With a drum-and-bass groove, the song is about rediscovering something you once did, or a way you once were, and thinking – was I really like that?”
Circle 60 - Along The Way
Is it a bird? Is it The Who circa 1966, getting freaky with Hawkwind? No, but you’d be forgiven for thinking it was based on these psychedelic punks’ new single, and in our world that’s a very good thing. Sunshiney harmonies and singalong vibes with a definite dark side. “Along The Way - that song is about someone realising that karma is coming back on them and so they start panicking and taking loads of drugs,” says frontman/guitarist Ade Emsley. Like this? There’s a full album, Gods Of Dimension, coming out in October.
Wucan - Pipe Dreams
Initially sparked off by a drum groove thrown out during a jam session, the German rockers’ latest (from new album Axioms, which is out now) it’s a galloping, melodious muthafucker that grows through driving, juicy layers of guitars (riffy, choppy, wah-y…), powerful beats and sky-scraping vocals from singer Francis Tobolsky. And the final section strikes a particularly soaring, pensive note. "It was the second song we wrote for the album, and it feels like a snapshot of where we were at that time,” Tobolsky says, adding: “To me, this song also carries a warning: shared dreams require the support of the whole community."
Ricky Warwick - Angels Of Desolation
The Almighty man, Black Star Rider and all-round good guy of rock’n’roll is joined by kindred musical spirit Tuk Smith on backing vocals, on this latest slice of his new album, Blood Ties (one of multiple quality guests to feature on that record, including Charlie Starr and Lita Ford). Heavy but swingin’, emotionally charged and ultimately full of hope. “Angels Of Desolation is a song of personal redemption,” Ricky notes. “Finally calling out and confronting the demons of regret and resentment.”
Handsome Jack - Do It To It
Choogling away like One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer, the blues standard made famous by John Lee Hooker, but with added swampy flavours and beard energy, Handsome Jack’s new single will make you feel like you’re somewhere densely wooded and off-grid in Mississippi. “This was actually the first song written for the new album that made the final cut,” the ragged rock’n’roll trio explain. “It helped shape our decision to record an album full of stripped-down shuffle boogies and blues. Inspired by legends like John Lee Hooker and Muddy Waters, we kept everything simple and raw: just the three of us playing live, no overdubs.” Keep an ear out for said album, Barnburners, later this year.
Deep Purple - Child In Time (Superhuman Stranger Things Version)
55 years old but given a fresh lick of paint for the final series of Stranger Things, the new version of Deep Purple's classic Child In Time isn't so much a remix as a complete remodel, with Ian Gillan's original verses gone altogether, replaced by Hans Zimmer-style synth blasts and clattering, reverb-drenched drums, with Gillan's screams and Ritchie Blackmore's solo guitar drifting in and out of the cacophony. This "Superhuman" version may lack the original's gradual shifts in drama, but it's undeniably cinematic and equally exciting.
Paradise Lost - Tyrants Serenade
The third single from Paradise Lost's upcoming album Ascension (out September 19), Tyrants Serenade (presumably, the lack of apostrophe is deliberate) begins with howling winds ushering in a riff as monstrous as a ghost ship powering through churning sea on a terrible, terrifying journey to somewhere Hellish. Throw in a brilliantly arranged mix of clean and growled vocals, and you're left with a compelling piece of epic drama. "The God of Malevolence serves as an internal voice to dismantle those cherished memories and reintroduces the initial anguish of loss," says frontman Nick Holmes, wisely.
