You know it's been a busy seven days at Tracks Of The Week Towers when two bands share 92% of the vote, but that's exactly what happened last week, as Liliac and Greta Van Fleet went head-to-head, hoovering up all the votes and leaving the others in their literal dust.
In the end it was all-sibling quintet Liliac who ran out the winners, with Greta Van Fleet picking up the consolation prize ahead of the Foo Fighters, who finished well back among the pack.
Undeterred, The Foos are back this week for more Tracks Of The Week action, alongside The Cadillac Three, Rival Sons, Creeper, Sophie Lloyd, Them Moose Rush, Royal Blood and Danko Jones. We wish them all luck.
Foo Fighters - Show Me How
The newest single from the Foos is unfamiliar territory for the band; as they invite Dave Grohl’s daughter Violet to assist on vocal duties on a song that’s softer than much of they’ve done before. As the pair learn to adjust to their recent grief (losing both Dave’s mother Virginina and longtime drummer/friend Taylor Hawkins last year), they offer each-other a shoulder to lean on with their duetting vocals swelling in soothing harmony. Meanwhile, shimmering, dream-pop-style chords stretch out into the beyond, curious yet comforting, as the father and daughter wonder how to move on forward without the guidance of their lost loved one.
The Cadillac Three - This Town Is A Ghost
While laying on an empty pool floor, covered by polaroid photographs full of memories, Tennessee trio The Cadillac Three swim deep in nostalgia, longing for the past, in a music video that looks as if it was filmed some time in the mid-noughties. Think Nickelback - one of their softer country-rock ballads - but smokier and much less soppy; like a big bear hug with an old friend, or that warm familiarity of a glass of Bourbon, drank alone in your local bar. Driven by a lighter-waving wholesome melody and Jaren Johnston’s velvety vocals, and this one’s a real heart-wrencher.
Creeper - Cry To Heaven
The 80s are back, and UK goth-punks Creeper are here to guide us through the neon with a new single that’s like a mix between The Lost Boys, Stranger Things and The Rocky Horror Show. A deliciously vampy concoction, as if pinched from some kind of rockified Dracula musical, frontman Will Gould leads the foray in black-leather and chiselled cheekbones, pouting and crooning to gothic synths and fist-thrusting drum stops. ‘I’ve got a blood-lust baby’ he bellows in the verse, before a choral backing joins him for a dramatic chorus that’s desperate to be met by skyward arms and a wide-leg power stance.
Sophie Lloyd - Lost
A rock song without any lyrics certainly isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, but on new single Lost, Sophie Lloyd keeps attentions firmly on-track with every sharp-edged lick and cascading, nimble-fingered shred. Lifted from her upcoming Slash-style collaborative album Imposter Syndrome, on this new release, Lloyd is accompanied by fellow YouTube axe-slinging extraordinaire Cole Rolland for a cosmic journey of dazzlingly intricate guitar riffs and triumphant hooks. Not that we need to be reminded of Lloyd’s brilliance, but Lost is as good a testament as any to her extraordinary talents, and we can’t wait to hear more.
Rival Sons - Don't Think Twice, It's All Right
Ahead of the release of their forthcoming album Darkfighter on June 2, Nashville-based Rival Sons took a trip to The Crypt Studio in North London to film a cover of Bob Dylan’s Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right. The results are, well, pretty special to say the least; totally bewitching, frontman Jay Buchanan’s chews over every line with an aching potency, as his granular bite frames each bare-boned pluck of the acoustic guitar melody with a stunning rawness and vulnerability. Truly beautiful.
Them Moose Rush - T-Jay
Not only will this new track from Croatian trio Them Moose Rush ear-worm your way into your skull, but it also arrives with an amusing Mario Kart-esque video, displaying the band whizzing around in tiny cars and causing all sorts of dangerous mischief. Scrappy and wonderfully waggish, Them Moose Rush escort listeners on a bumpy ride of clip-clopping percussion, sleazy vocals and jolting Royal Blood-style riffs. Just be sure to prepare for the oncoming whiplash.
Royal Blood - Mountains At Midnight
If there's with thing you can say with any certainty about new Royal Blood single Mountains At Midnight, it's that it's unmistakably Royal Thunder-ish, with a thunderous bass riff from Mike Kerr and a series of subtle, Sympathy For The Devil-style "woo-woos" providing extra lift. The song is lead single from the duo's upcoming Back To The Water Below album, which arrives on September 8. “I think this record was about letting the ideas take us where they needed to go,” says drummer Ben Thatcher. “ If there was a song that was calling us to do something that wasn’t typically what we’re known for, that’s where we’re going to go.”
Danko Jones - Good Time
"Good Time is the song you need to hear when you’re not ready to throw in the towel," says Danko Jones. "It also rocks very very very hard and has a lot of swear words." While this description may not help to differentiate Good Time from almost any other Danko Jones single you care to mention, it's reassuring to know that some things in life can be relied on to forever remain the same. And when the world comes to an end and everything falls into the sea, Danko will be the last of us to go, still rockin' on the shore, still determined to "fuck shit up and have a good time."
