The US government may have shut down, but our Tracks Of The Week contest ploughs on in delightfully bipartisan fashion, oblivious to the vagaries of political difference and indifference. This week, Hey!!! (What's Your Pleasure!) by brotherly Welsh duo Henry's Funeral Shoe, lived up to those multiple exclamation marks and ended up in first place, ahead of About Last Night by The Hot Damn!, whose single exclamation mark was enough to keep them ahead of Gluecifer's The Idiot.
Below, we've created a level playing field by choosing eight bands without any exclamation marks. All will be keen to triumph as a new battle gets underway. Don't forget to vote for your favourite.
A Thousand Horses - Dead Man Walking
Nashville rockers A Thousand Horses continue to shift away from countrified tones into heavier, more stadium-sized territory on Dead Man Walking. They’ve not thrown the cowboy boots out entirely (Michael Hobby’s Tennessee-sizzle accent keeps them with at least one foot in the South) but it’s a big tonal step that just might introduce them to a whole new audience – while still giving existing fans plenty to rock out to.
Märvel - Biding My Time
The high-octane garage rock’n’rollers come all Ricky Warwick-era Thin Lizzy, vocal-wise – in their own ragged, groovy, leather-masked way – on this moody yet rollicking, swashbuckling latest single. “The title and the song came together during a period when everything around the band was falling apart,” the Swedes explain, “but we stuck together and weathered the storm, and a lot of that feeling is captured in the song.” Listen to this with your morning coffee for some frills-free, get-shit-done energy.
The Sheepdogs - Nobody But You
Now a fully self-managing, self-releasing outfit, the Sheepdogs increasingly feel like one of those bands you can always count on to deliver the goods. And so it proves on Nobody But You, the latest artisanal product from their boutique empire, all 70s fire and sunshine, Buffalo Springfield vibes, killer opening lick and those heartwarming harmonies that tell you it’s them, and it’s all going to be fine. Founding drummer Sam Corbett recently left the band to focus on family life, making this feel rather like the start of a new chapter – Sam leaves behind a gorgeous body of work, and based on this we’d say there’s still plenty to come.
Moundrag - Black Flames
Coming at you in a whirl of smoky, Purple-esque organ stabs, hypnotic bass-y beats, sinister masked figures and lashings of black nail varnish, the young French brother duo take you on a trip through desolate forests, witchy minor keys and 70s prog spirits as far as the eye can see. Think Uriah Heep in a room with Green Lung and King Crimson, and you’re in the right club. Their new album, Deux, comes out later this month.
Mirador - Must I Go Bound
Live and in a beautiful old church in Wiltshire, Chris ‘Ida Mae’ Turpin and Jake ‘Greta Van Fleet’ Kiszka go a bit heavy on the echo/reverb but otherwise nail this folky yet urgent, old world ballad that’s already become a favourite among their fans. An enveloping slice of a different time, that still manages to feel fresh and interesting. If clever, beautifully executed acoustic guitars and prettily haunting harmonies make you happy, Must I Go Bound will make you very happy.
Soho Dukes - Sunday Magazines
The sort of straight-shooting rock’n’roll boogie you’d be delighted to hear as you step into your local for a night on the sauce, surrounded by your favourite people, Sunday Magazines reinvents nothing but sends the listener merrily into a boozy, all-are-welcome lock-in somewhere on Wardour Street in nineteen-eighty…oh who the hell can remember? Plus the chorus’ll stay in your head for days. Catch them on the road across the UK with Quireboys over the coming weeks.
Triggerfinger - Stars
It’s been a while since we heard from these Belgian dudes, so it was a delight to come upon this fuzzy, stompy yet suave hybrid of 00s guitar wave vibes, pulsing electronics and some seductive vocal purrs. Hypnotic earworm chorus, too. The musical equivalent of a sharp suit with cigarettes, picks and motorcycle keys in its pockets. “This song is basically about hope,” says vocalist Ruben Block. “I wanted to talk about intergenerational differences. How every younger generation needs to find their own way, navigating through everyday life, find a purpose, regardless of what other generations think.”
Preyrs - Bring Your Bruises
Belfast rockers Preyrs – led by singer Amy Montgomery and drummer/producer Michael Mormech – conjure up a right old racket on new single Bring Your Bruises, a thumping alt.rock/industrial/goth banger that sounds something like Garbage playing footsie with Nine Inch Nails. On an oil rig. During a storm. If you live in mainland Europe and caught the band on the New Blood stage at Bloodstock this year, you'll be delighted to learn that they'll be hitting the road across the channel with New Model Army next month. Hello Leipzig!
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