Last week, our Tracks Of The Week contest was so dominated by one artist that we're calling it the biggest landslide since Urho Kekkonen won 82.41 % of the popular vote in the Finnish Presidential election in 1978.
So, congratulations to Tuk Smith & The Restless Hearts, whose new song Troubled Paradise won a bigger percentage of the total vote than all the other entries put together. Go Tuk!
We'll mention the other podium placers because it's what we do, but Royal Republic and Buckcherry will surely look a little sheepish with those runners-up medals around their necks.
Below, you'll find another eight slices of delicious rock cake to taste. Bon appétit!
The Southern River Band - Don’t Take It To Heart
Fresh from a run of live shows at Download and across the UK, scorching Aussie rock’n’rollers The Southern River Band get down like Thin Lizzy trading ideas with Rose Tattoo on this punchy but sweet-as-hell new song. “It’s the new single off our new record that we’ve just finished doing with mega legend and all-round top bloke Nick DiDia over in Byron,” says mastermind Cal Kramer. “And if you like it, well, heck – you might like the other songs too.” Sold!
Laura Cox - No Need To Try Harder
French Youtube guitar star Laura Cox (she initially gained a viral following with classic rock covers) has been swimming in more substantial singing and songwriting waters for a while now. On No Need To Try Harder she hits a new stride. Mixing bluesy rattle n’ roll bottleneck hooks with a catchy alt rock chorus and Kills-esque sassiness throughout, it sounds simple but there’s a lot going on there. Fun that you can get your teeth into. Tasty.
Joe Bonamassa - Trigger Finger
We’ve thoroughly enjoyed Joe’s expansion into oomphy classic rock’n’roll earworms (as opposed to the more purist blues noodling he’s had more airtime for – not to mention sold a lot of gig tickets on the basis of), of which Trigger Finger is the latest example. The man gets endless plaudits for his guitar playing, which is all well and good, but based on tracks like this he deserves more for his songwriting. Find more of that on his new solo album, Breakthrough, which is out next month.
Brent Cobb & The Fixins - Take Yer Meds
Enjoy a shot of wisdom and compassion with this vibey, loose-limbed rock’n’roll gem – shimmying into spacier sun traps here and there, but always landing back on its delicious southern-fried core groove. “Everybody in this world is on something,” Brent says. “Whether it’s caffeine, an exercise routine, nicotine, religion or something stronger… we all have our something to help us get through this awfully wonderful experience of life. And there's nothin’ wrong with a little assistance, I don’t think. Go on, take 'yer medicine - whatever that is."
Stephen Wilson Jr - Dig A Hole
One of the most compelling voices coming out of Nashville’s country scene (an increasingly varied musical landscape, for all its glossier pop and bro-country sides) Stephen Wilson Jr draws swooping, cinematic depths on this marriage of outlaw, grunge and southern-gothic flavours. If you’re watching Netflix’s new North Carolina-set drama The Waterfront, you’ll also hear it there. Nice.
The Hives - Paint A Picture
Taken from their upcoming album The Hives Forever Forever The Hives (out 29 August), Paint A Picture shows a slightly sweeter, warmer side to these heroes of 00s garage rock; less Sex Pistols wreaking anarchy in the UK, more Ramones on their way to Rockaway Beach. Naturally though, this being The Hives, it’s still caffeined up to the eyeballs and charged with enough agitated urgency to show how invested they still are in rock’n’roll – after over twenty years in the business.
Marcus King Band - Carolina Honey
The South Carolina ‘young old soul’ gets his Curtis Mayfield freak on with this sumptuous, soulful new jam. Inspired by the life-changing experience of meeting his new wife (one night after a gig in Raleigh, North Carolina). “She started playing Linda Ronstadt and singing,” Marcus reflects, “for the first time I saw something or someone in front of me that gave me ‘hope’... Someone I wanted to grow old with, someone that made me want to grow old ‘at all.’ Carolina Honey takes the listener through my mentality that day.”
Enuff Z'nuff - Heavy Metal
The perennially underrated Enuff Z'nuff return with Heavy Metal, the first track to emerge from their upcoming eighteenth album Xtra Cherries. It's the usual mix of Sunset Strip glam and Beatles-esque pop, and features the kind of chorus bands used to write before bands stopped writing choruses. The new album's out on July 25 and includes contributions from Cheap Trick's Robin Zander, Journey's Neal Schon, former Guns N' Roses drummer Steven Adler and Billy Idol's right-hand man Steve Stevens. Woop.
