Tracks Of The Week: new music and videos from Rex Brown, Chris Cornell and more

Last week’s winner were SKAM, followed by Gun and Alice Cooper in joint-second place and Amplifier in third. Huzzah for them all! Lovely stuff all round. But who’s lighting your proverbial fire this week? It’s all killer, no filler here, so fill yer boots, listen in, then vote for your favourite at the foot of this page.

But first, how about a listen to last week’s victors? Go on then…

The Godfathers – A Big Bad Beautiful Noise

New music from London’s foremost alt-punk-rock’n’roll pioneers, complete with flashing lights, dirty guitars, pulsating electronics and V For Vendetta-style masks. And is that a Trump mask we see as sirens fade in towards the end? We think it is. A ‘big, bad, beautiful’ noise indeed.

King King – (She Don’t) Gimme No Lovin’

Alan Nimmo embraces his inner 70s rock kid more than ever on this new track from his bluesy outfit King King. And guess what? It’s seriously addictive. Even with that *slightly* cheesy key-change towards the end. If the rest of upcoming album Exile And Grace is as much fun as this, we’ll be very happy. Well done fellas.

Josh Todd & The Conflict – Year of the Conflict

Buckcherry’s peacock-strutting frontman has a new band and they sound a bit good, if this single is anything to go by. If you like Buckcherry you’ll like this – it’s cut from a similar, pleasingly shouty-yet-groovy rock cloth and sounds great for it.

Rex Brown – Train Song

Pantera’s former bassist – and one of the Texan groove-metallers’ less notorious members – can really sing, and write a damn good rock song. Or at least that’s what the grungy, riffy Train Song, taken from his upcoming solo debut Smoke On This, suggests. Check out the full album when it hits shelves in July…

The Yawpers – Mon Dieu

We really like this Denver three-piece (the best, maybe even the only, band we know named after a Walt Whitman poem) so were delighted when this appeared on our radar. Taken from their forthcoming second album with Bloodshot Records (the rather darkly titled Boy In A Well) Mon Dieu is a menacing rumble of dark, countrified blues and punky anarchy.

Broken Teeth – Never Dead

A raging ode to Motorhead (“I believe in Motorhead, never dead” etc etc), from a band who’ve clearly listened to a lot of Motorhead. And a bit of thrash along the way. Nothing new but when it’s executed with this much joie de vivre who’s complaining? We’re certainly not.

Chris Cornell – The Promise

Beautifully composed, heartbreaking official video for Chris Cornell’s ode to the refugee crisis. Inevitably this has added poignancy following his passing, but however you look at it it’s a gorgeous tune. Cornell may no longer be with us, but his music will move people for many, many years to come.

Deaf Havana – Happiness

A song called Happiness that isn’t actually very happy at all, but if you like Springsteen, The Gaslight Anthem and their soaring, blue-collar kind (we’re looking at you Sian Llewellyn/Classic Rock Ed…) you’ll love it. Its acoustic foundations, catchy warmth and ultimately uplifting tone bode well for summer festival lighter-swaying.

Polly is deputy editor at Classic Rock magazine, where she writes and commissions regular pieces and longer reads (including new band coverage), and has interviewed rock's biggest and newest names. She also contributes to Louder, Prog and Metal Hammer and talks about songs on the 20 Minute Club podcast. Elsewhere she's had work published in The Musician, delicious. magazine and others, and written biographies for various album campaigns. In a previous life as a women's magazine junior she interviewed Tracey Emin and Lily James – and wangled Rival Sons into the arts pages. In her spare time she writes fiction and cooks.