Start your week right with the very best new music that rocks, handpicked by Team Classic Rock. Whether you're feeling good, bad, full of energy or flagging already, we've got you covered. But which song is the best? You decide, by casting your vote at the foot of this page.
Last week A Thousand Horses rolled into first place with A Song To Remember, followed by Black Foxxes in second place and Badflower in third. Congratulations to all three of them!
Check out the winning single below (now accompanied by a new video for added ambience, and footage of rolling hills adorned with living room furniture), then dive into this week's selection.
South Of Eden - Dancing With Fire
These guys look familiar? There’s a reason for that; they previously operated under the name Black Coffee, and have been featured in this round-up (and in Classic Rock magazine). Now they’re back with a new name and a straight-up belter of a rock song. Fast, furious and buzzing with energy, it’s the shot of classic yet cool caffeine we all need on a Monday. Or indeed any day.
Band updates, music and merch.
After London - OPERATOR
Vocalist Frank Ward says that "OPERATOR is about embracing your weird side. Put simply, don't let the judgement of others hold you back. It's a song for the weirdos... like us." If any of that resonates with you you’re in excellent hands here, with this sugared yet spiky sucker punch of infectious, in-your-face vocals, synthesisers and post-punky guitars.
The Pineapple Thief - Break It All
“One of the darker, more sinister tracks from the album,” frontman Bruce Soord explains of this heavier cut from TPT’s latest album, “Break it All attempts to make sense of narcissistic destruction and the fallout”. Shot in a maze in the garden of (and how’s this for a cool job title?) 'the world's leading maze designer' Adrian Fisher, it looks as intriguing, dark and atmospheric as it sounds.
Pre-order the new album Versions Of The Truth.
Hawxx - DOGMA
A hard-hitting mix of metal, heavy rock and industrial tones, this four-piece’s new single is a seething, literate rally against the insidious pressure that still, too often, warps the way women see themselves. “I was talking with a friend who at one point quite freely said ‘Ugh I just hate myself’,” says singer Anna. “It got me thinking how normalised it is for us womxn to hate ourselves, to always wish we were different somehow… In the end, the idea that ‘if I was more like this, I’d be happy’ is a massive lie.. DOGMA is a call to action. Don’t let anyone else tell you who you are.”
Band updates, music and merch.
The Rolling Stones - Scarlet
Not a ‘new’ Stones track but a previously unheard one – part of new release Goats Head Soup 2020 – featuring guest guitar work from Jimmy Page, so it’s well worth checking out. A quirky, jerky, lovelorn marriage of classic rock legends in their prime, it’s an off-kilter yet sweet blast from the past.
Buy Goats Head Soup 2020 and other Rolling Stones merchandise.
Puppy - Serotonin
We’re not entirely sure what’s going on here, but we like it. Pigeonhole-defying alt rockers Puppy have revisited (i.e. royally fucked with) the whole ‘lyric video’ concept as part of their grungy, melodic yet messed up new single. Expect a lot of flashing images, languages, lines of code and other dizzying ingredients. The desired effect? Say the band: “...something akin to a nightmare Zoom conference or the most confusing karaoke tape of all time!” Well, quite.
Ruff Majik - Who Keeps Score
If Queens Of The Stone Age upped their sludge quota by a factor of 100, this heady, low-slung number could have been the result. As it is Who Keeps Score is actually the work of South African sludge’n’rollers Ruff Majik, who’ve added flavours of Josh Homme and co to their fuzzy Wolfmother-nodding fusion on this new offering. If you like a bit of sludge in your life, but sometimes find it a bit...well, sludgy, this is the upbeat sweet spot you seek.
Buy or stream Who Keeps Score.
The Georgia Thunderbolts - Lend A Hand
We’ll leave you with a dirty, bourbon-chugging shitkicker from rising southern rock longhairs The Georgia Thunderbolts. Mixing heavy notes of Black Label Society and Monster Truck – as well as generous helpings of 70s classic rock and new-generation Nashville vibes – it's a slick, swaggering taste of the meatier side of the south.
