Last week, we described A Thousand Horses' new single Voices as sounding "like a southern Soundgarden via Green Day’s Boulevard Of Broken Dreams", and it appears that this revolutionary genre mish-mash has struck a chord, with the song screeching to the top of the Tracks Of The Week tree, with nary a concern for any fellow competitors. So congratulations to them.
The vanquished included The Lazys, whose Hot Under The Collar scored just 15 per cent of the vote, while the excellent Mirador managed just under 10. But we've already moved on. To this week's selection. Which follows.
Die Spitz - Punishers
The zeitgeisty, instrument-swapping Austin four-piece continue their gallop into hearts and column inches across the musical spectrum with this latest sample of their upcoming album, Something To Consume. Driving grunge, shoegaze and metal flavours weave seamlessly around a 90s sugar-sprinkled melody with lashings of woozy angst (it’s Chloe De St. Aubin at the mic for this one) and stylishly macabre video, telling the story “of a sad clown with little talent to give…but with her heart on her sleeve, she still yearns to be a star.” Nice.
Cheap Trick - Twelve Gates
There’s a reason Cheap Trick are still held in such high regard as masters of great pop rock. This heartwarming new single – all stirring sweetness and yearning, without losing that edge that keeps them interesting – reaffirms that in style. And there’s more to come via All Washed Up, their new studio album, which comes out in November. "Just one more great album from the best rock band in the world," quips Robin Zander, modestly.
Amanda Shires - Piece Of Mind
Singer, songwriter and fiddle player Amanda Shires turns the pain of her divorce (from singer/songwriter Jason Isbell) into a searing, brilliantly articulated, roots-laced rock banger with Piece Of Mind. “This one came when I was finally done being polite about pain,” Shires explains. “I wrote this song because I never got closure. Piece of Mind became the place I said everything I didn’t get to say. Writing it gave me an ending. Not tidy. Not bitter. Just mine.” Get stuck into this and more on the full album, Nobody’s Girl, which comes out this month.
The Vintage Caravan - Crossroads
No, not the blues classic, but the Icelandic trio’s very own 70s-ified blend of riffy hard rock, heady blues sensibilities and psychedelic turns – making for one of their more introspective, sonically diverse moments to date. "Lyrically the song was written when I was at a certain crossroads in my life,” bassist Alexander Örn Númason says. “It reflects on that through the lens of being lost in a forest at nighttime and your mind racing at every sound and sight.”
Willie Dowling - Long Drop Down
Eloquently disenchanted and *almost* too clever a songwriter for his own good, Willie Dowling tempers stark despair with warm piano lines, sun-kissed harmonies and all manner of seamless little twists and gearshifts into darker places. The stuff of cerebral pop rock dreams – think Split Milk-era Jellyfish with dashes of Steely Dan jazziness – without losing its tender, emotional core.
Jonathan Hultén - Dawn
Lose yourself in Jonathan’s icy, cinematic swirl of suspense, warmth and dreamlike atmosphere, elegantly executed and crammed with intrigue – from ambient textures and electronics to organic keys and guitars, all steeped in foresty shadows. It sort of called to mind The Von Hertzen Brothers’ Red Alert In The Blue Forest, but with a folkier spirit. “Dawn flows through themes of emotional renewal and transitions between life's different phases,” Jonathan says. “It’s a short, melancholic journey that conveys a simple appreciation of existence itself, despite (or because of) its ephemeral nature.”
Eric Gales - You Shouldn't Have Left Me
Eric Gales' upcoming album Tribute To LJK (out next month) was made in honour of his brother Manuel, who died of a heart attack in 2002. Manuel was professionally known as Little Jimmy King, in tribute to his mentor, Albert, and it's that kind of pedigree on show on You Shouldn't Have Left Me, a slick, swaggering blues that bubbles with life. "My brother is there throughout this whole record" says Gales. "And I can't wait for it to start turning people's heads."
Foxy Shazam - You Know My Name feat. Corey Feldman
Can you believe it's been 20 years since Cincinnati glamsters Foxy Shazam released their debut album? Nope, us neither. Now firmly back (that two-decade span includes a five-year hiatus), they've already had a big year thanks to previous single Oh Lord's inclusion in the opening episode of the new series of Peacemaker, and You Know My Name looks to capitalise on that by featuring a star turn from one of erratic behaviour's great exponents, actor Corey Feldman. They wouldn't get away with this if the single wasn't more fun than a circus tent full of day-glo kittens, but it is, so that's alright. Extra points for rhyming "Ooh, la-di-la" with "Radio Gaga."
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