Tracks Of The Week: new music from Rival Sons, The Damned and more

(Image credit: Press materials)

Well. That was exciting. In one of the biggest week's voting we've ever experienced, blues rock's very own Samatha Fish (feat. Jesse Drayton) and funk metal pioneers Extreme combined their almighty talents to collect almost three quarters of all available votes in our weekly competition.

It was Fish who emerged from the sea in first place, so congratulations to her, and also to Austin Gold, who finished in a triumphant – albeit distant – third place. They're all winners in our eyes, etc etc etc.

Let's do it all again, shall we? Runners and riders below, voting form below that.

The Bites - Squeeze

Hollywood’s new rock’n’roll gang return to TOTW with a brilliantly executed, frills-free boogie, mixing flavours of Van Halen’s Ice Cream Man and Jet’s Are You Gonna Be My Girl – but faster, and madder. "If we had to choose a song that contains all the elements of what defines The Bites as a band, without hesitation, the choice would be Squeeze,” frontman Jordan Tyler says. “Whether it’s on the record or on the stage, it’s loud, packed with energy, there’s sex appeal, it’s chaotic…” Yeah mate, those fake shirt n’ tie T-shirts? Phwoarrr… Still, when a band is having as much fun as this lot are – and with a song like this, why wouldn’t they be? – you’d have to be in a very shit mood to not wind up having a good time yourself.

Snayx - Body Language

Body Language is our favourite track from the Brighton punk rockers’ new EP Weaponized Youth: Part 1 (out now). Built on tales of a blurry night out and a thick, languid bass groove – part Blur, part Red Hot Chilis – it builds to a frenzied punk’n’roll climax that crackles with excess and energy. “There’s a real scene that's coming through at the minute and it just feels so exciting. We want to be a part of that,” the band say. “It’s different to the old-school punk scene but it’s got the same energy and intensity behind it. It’s really liberating.” Amen to that.

Rival Sons - Bird In The Hand

Kicking off with sprinkles of acoustic guitar and a big, squelchy Queens Of The Stone Age-y stomp, the latest slice of Darkfighter (the band’s next album, now out in June) is a textured web of light and dark, its brooding lyrics and minor-key backbone offset by flourishes of psychedelia and hope. Like much of previous album Feral Roots, the one’s a grower, in the good sense; offering another twist in the Rival Sons path, and a classy sound that’s unmistakably theirs.

The Cold Stares - Got No Right

In the market for some blues rock? Here’s a quality dose of it – in live recorded form. Fresh off the Indiana trio’s just-released new album, Got No Right echoes the ambiance of old-school delta sounds and marries it with a 21st century narrative. And with bassist Bryce Klueh now onside (they were a two-piece previously), singer/guitarist Chris Tapp has space to stretch out with some sparser, brighter chops, adding a 60s sheen to their roosty mix. Tasty.

Buckcherry - Good Time

Ahhh Buckcherry, some things just don’t change, and thankfully their capacity for ebullient, straight-in-your-face rock’n’roll is one of them. Good Time is the musical equivalent of pizza; familiar, crowd-pleasing, with appropriate layers of cheese. As this new video shows they will forever have a very specific, nostalgic idea of what an awesome party involves – pool, California sun, blonde women in bikinis and beer pong (to be fair, much like every US rock band with radio singles in the late 90s/early 00s), only this time the party people are all actually, like… dead, or zombies, or something? Anyway, watch it and see.

Robert Jon & The Wreck - One Of A Kind

Boot-tapping, guitar-slidin’ southern rock is the dish of the day on this new single from Robert Jon and his Wreck. If the death of Gary Rossington left a hole in your heart, take comfort in knowing that guys like this are carrying the torch onward. Music for firing up the grill, cracking open some cold ones and enjoying the South Carolina sunset…or at least imaging that. Checked shirts, hats and beards not obligatory, but strongly encouraged.

Tygers Of Pan Tang - Fire On The Horizon

By our reckoning, Fire On The Horizon is from Tygers' 16th lineup, but the Whitley Bay warriors are still firing on extremely youthful cylinders. Fire On The Horizon is a legitimate headbanger, borne aloft on a rattling riff, with nary a pause for breath. It turns out that FOTH was actually inspired by an old Tygers' tune, Running Out Of Time, from 1991's Crazy Nights album (the one with the great cover art). “I wanted to write something fast and powerful to live up to the band tradition of having powerful guitar riffs and short, impactful solos," says guitarist Francesco Marras. "It sits perfectly alongside the other nine fantastic tracks on the album”. Oh yes, an album. Bloodlines will be released on May 5.

The Damned - Beware Of The Clown

When The Damned are on form they release songs that sound like no one else, and they're on form for this. Beware Of The Clown has a Grimly Fiendish-kinda vibe, a sold chug enlivened by a chorus that lifts it high into the goth-osphere. And if there's any more fun to be had then the fun had by the band making the video, we want tickets. Captain Sensible informs us the song is about the "conveyor belt of bozos” who lead us, and we're especially fond of the video's suitably crazed sound effects. New album Darkadelic will be released on out April 28.

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.

With contributions from

Fraser LewryOnline Editor, Classic Rock