56 years after their re-formation and 52 years after their only number one success in the UK, The Sweet have triumphed again with the new single Burn like a shooting star and topped last week’s performance The only choice that counted was our Tracks of the Week competition. The Hot Damn! narrowly came in second with their new single Automaticallywhile the Georgia Thunderbolts I crawl back to you came in far behind. We’ve already forgotten the rest.
This week there is a new group of candidates. But will the new boss be the same as the old one? Only you can decide.
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Sadler Vaden – Staying Alive
Sadler Vaden, guitarist for Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit by day, has just released his fourth solo album. Papa Rockfrom which this great Americana rocker comes. Stomping and more party-friendly than his work with Isbell, To stay alive (no relation) still carries some of the bittersweet warmth that you hear in his gentle, intuitive 400 Unit style. Think of Black Crowes guitarist Rich Robinson’s side project The Magpie Salute, via Joe Walsh’s The Rocky Mountain Wayand you are on the right track.
Virginmarys – Northwest Coast
Forget the sun-kissed haze and west coast harmonies of the US, this blistering new single from the (where else?) north-western rock duo is all about wild riffs, inner demons, crappy weather and vimto under Blackpool pier. They’ll play a couple of shows with Ugly Kid Joe in the summer, followed by a UK headline tour from November. There’s also a new album coming out. In other words, there’s plenty to get your teeth into.
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Bywater Call – Everyone knows it
The Canadian rock and soul ensemble puts a lot of emphasis on the soul part of their sound (and also the rock) in this full-bodied, Aretha-tastic latest piece from their new album shepherd – will be available in full in August. “This song is about how you can tell yourself anything you want to hear that makes you feel better,” says guitarist Dave Barnes, “but ultimately the truth is always waiting for you at the end of the day.” Fans of the Tedeschi Trucks Band, the Allmans and the Band will like this.
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Creeping Jean – Always at my door
The Brighton rock’n’rollers mix retro riffs with Hare Krishna-era Beatles vibes in this jaunty, psychedelic-tinged new track, drawing on the memories of a… er, “diehard” fan. Another stylish taster of their upcoming album, The business is deadand the kind of cool yet upbeat nostalgia that went down well at their support dates with Rival Sons. Catch them headlining across the UK in July and August.
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The Courettes – California
“We wanted to bring all the sunshine and some psychedelic vibes of The Byrds, Laurel Canyon and lots of 12-string guitars into our songwriting,” says singer/guitarist Flavi Couri of this sugary yet spiky, ’60s-style taster of her and her drummer husband’s upcoming album. The soul of the fabulous Courettes. “But somehow there were some dark clouds left in the lyrics. It’s about traveling and leaving your loved ones behind. Any musician who travels a lot can relate to that.”
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Beth Hart – You Still Got Me
“I wasn’t in a good mood and I was hanging out on the couch and crying pretty hard,” Hart recalls of the story behind that stirring marriage of raw, gritty soul vocals, silky strings and ’60s R&B sensibility. “Scott said, ‘Hey, do you need a hug?’ I said, ‘I’ve got nothing left in me to love,’ and he said, ‘You still have me.’ I said, ‘Wait a minute, I’ll be right back.’ I went downstairs and used those words and how he said them… It’s true. If I still have him, I still have everything.”
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Kiel – Moving target
The first new music from glam metal legends Keel since 2010 Streets of Rock N Roll Album, Moving target comes from Ron Keel’s comprehensive studio album Kiel Worldwhich will feature new music from Keel, Steeler, the Ron Keel Band, Iron Horse and others and is scheduled to enter the Earth’s atmosphere on August 2. With 80% of Keel’s current lineup being the same as the one that enjoyed the band’s glory days in the mid-80s, it’s hardly surprising that Moving target sounds like it was recorded in 1985 without much consideration for the decades that have passed since then, but we’re not complaining.
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Starcrazy – I’m not that crazy
We’ve featured Sydney’s Starcrazy on these pages before and here’s another reason why we like her. I’m not that crazy starts with a fairly smooth drum and bass guitar workout before bursting into life with a riff somewhere in the middle of the Joe Perry/Slash Venn diagram, which in turn develops into a chiming funk, which in turn heralds a grunge-friendly power pop chorus. Elsewhere there are screaming vocal parts and unexpected piano parts. It’s, to be honest, completely muddled, but in the best possible way, like a giant wrestling tag team match with Aerosmith and Hanoi Rocks and the JB’s and Weezer and god knows who else throwing each other around the ring at random, performing suplexes and half nelsons and all sorts of unexpected maneuvers.
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