Tracks Of The Week: new music from Stone Temple Pilots, Tax The Heat and more

Ready for the weekend, but need some quality rock to really get you in the mood? You’ve come to the right place, good people, but first let’s look at last week’s top three Tracks Of The Week; in reverse order they are…

3. Black Sabbath – N.I.B

2. Electric Mary – Woman

1. Hannah Wicklund & The Steppin’ Stones – Bomb Through The Breeze

So who’s destined to triumph this week? Who’s song is the most fabulous (and there’s quite a bit of fabulousness here)? Give this lot a spin, then vote for your favourite at the foot of this page. We hope you enjoy them, once you’ve had a listen to last week’s first prize winner Hannah Wicklund & The Steppin’ Stones. Well done Hannah!

Stone Temple Pilots – Meadow

Infectious, hook-tastic new one from STP to start with? Ohhh go on then, we’ll take that. Especially because Meadow rocks like a big beast. Scott Weiland replacement Jeff Gutt fits in brilliantly, his tastily snarly tones pushing all the right buttons without ripping off his late predecessor. Delicious.

Tax The Heat – Money In The Bank

The suited West Country boys won us over with stylish debut Fed To The Lions. Now they’re back with more suave yet beefy rock’n’roll (think QOTSA meets classic Who-esque Rn’B and you’re in the right ballpark), accompanied here by…erm…washing machines. Lots of washing machines. Good track though.

Corrosion Of Conformity – Cast The First Stone

COC’s upcoming new album, No Cross No Crown, is a righteous display of riffy hard rock heft – epitomised by this skull-crunching piece of metallic rock’n’roll. You want some good heavy shit? Look no further.

Goodbye June – Good Side

Now for some classy bluesy, blissed-out rock from Nashville – tastes of Zeppelin and the Black Keys included (and really, given how well it’s done, what’s not to like about that?). Luscious kaleidoscopic video too. Well done fellas.

Toto – Alone

Holy feck! It’s new music from them of epic ‘I-bless-the-rains-down-in-Aaaaafricaaahhhh’ fame! And it’s rather good! Harking joyfully back to a time when soaring, pensive power ballads were de rigueur – and there was no such thing as too many synths – Alone is a hitherto unreleased Toto tune taken from their upcoming greatest hits package 40 Trips Round The Sun.

Starcrawler – I Love LA

The latest video from the LA noiseniks stars the band as impressively can’t-be-arsed donut shop staff. ‘Welcome to LA,’ contorting beanpole singer Arrow De Wilde deadpans, before their louche, fuzzy rock’n’roll unfolds. Mixing grungy edge with attitude and swagger of which Iggy and Ozzy would be proud, it’s whetted our appetite for their forthcoming album - due out in January.

Phil Campbell & The Bastard Sons – Ringleader

Former Motorhead guitar-slinger Campbell, plus his actual sons (and singer Neil Starr), mixes the grade-A filth and bite of his old band with zingy new chops on this cut from upcoming album The Age Of Absurdity. Nom nom nom…

Prophets Of Rage – Hands Up

We round off this week’s musical selection platter with a chest-thumping hybrid of politically charged rage and good-time guitar chomping – occupying the furious sweet spot where hip hop and hard rock collide.

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.