A quarter of a million people have viewed The Damn Truth's riotous Love Outta Luck video since it was released a couple of weeks back, which suggests that the Montreal rockers are very much worth keeping an eye on, and their triumph in our most recent Tracks Of The Week joust suggests that we're not the only ones paying attention.
So congratulations to them, and to DeWolff and Cardinal Black, for keeping the competition lively. Our latest combatants are below, broadswords at the ready.
But who will it be? Only you can decide. Yes, you. So please vote.
The Darkness - The Longest Kiss
Back with a spring in their step, love in their hearts, the Taylor Swift seal of approval and the sort of gleefully, fearlessly silly album title that only they could really pull off, The Darkness make a bright-eyed opening statement for the forthcoming LP Dreams On Toast. Said opening statement, The Longest Kiss, is cooked up with ingredients that totally befit its name: a winning melody, sweet guitarmonies, rivers of ELO-tastic piano. It’s like hearing Mr Blue Sky revisited by Freddie Mercury, with Jellyfish pouring the drinks.
The Virginmarys - There Ain’t No Future
From sweetness and light to the heavy, guttural depths of despair (in a good way), Macclesfield’s mighty Virginmarys are on prizefighter form on this second taste of their next album, The House Beyond The Fires. A roiling, fire-spitting cry to the heavens, it blends pummelling grooviness with raw, on-the-nose fury in a way that calls to mind their breakthrough 2013 debut, while drawing from all the life experience they’ve gathered since. Blistering stuff.
Larkin Poe – If God Is A Woman
Larkin Poe’s bluesy cocktail takes a cool, atmospheric turn on If God Is A Woman – think haunting hill country blues with a thoughtful, 21st-century slant – without sacrificing the hooky rock backbone that’s made their latest releases so moreish. “If God Is A Woman was written as a reminder to resist the typecasting of women,” says singer/guitarist Rebecca Lovell, “both conscious and unconscious. There are many shades of existence, and we had fun painting abstract with this sardonic blues.”
Devin Townsend - Jainism
The Canadian maverick’s new song references his time in the Wildhearts, and makes a brilliant showpiece for his next record PowerNerd (a satisfyingly 'straight-ahead' affair – don't let that self-consciously wacky title tell you otherwise). Jainism embodies that mix of new-age dreaminess, riffasaurus oomph and stirring, singalong chorus that’s synonymous with Devin's most commanding work (we found ourselves thinking of Devin Townsend Project records like 2012’s Epicloud and 2016 single Stormbending), laced with the shadows that come with age and life experience, not to mention a strange few years on a global scale. Devin at his weird, wonderful but hard-hitting best.
Von Hertzen Brothers - Ascension Day
Finland’s sibling trio spare no expense on the music video for Ascension Day (the latest sample of brighter, punchier but still clever new album, In Murmuration) – by which we mean they spare all expense, save that of some cardboard and a sharpie (it's a spoof of a clip from Bob Dylan's Subterranean Homesick Blues, as seen in 1967 documentary Don't Look Back). Which is kind of funny because Ascension Day doesn’t have a cheapskate bone in its body. A big, stadium pop-rock singalong, spiced up with twists and dark shades that the Von Hertzens do so well, it's as warm as a bear-hug even as it arches the occasional eyebrow.
Split Dogs - Monster Truck
Two things you should know about the new single from Bristol punk rock’n’rollers Split Dogs. First: it’s an arse-kicking blend of hooky, good-time guitar boogies and ragged noise (think Status Quo at a houseparty with The Damned circa New Rose). Second: there are monster trucks in this video and, whatever your feelings for these needlessly supersized, car-crushing gas-guzzlers, they look pretty fucking cool. “Monster Truck Is about lessons learnt, seeing it coming but you keep on trucking,” says guitarist Mil Martinez. “Focus on yourself and the good stuff around you. Be strong, lead with an open heart. Don’t take kindness for weakness…. You better not tread on me!”
The Wild Things - My Heart Is In New York (feat. Pete Townshend)
Described as the world's first "choose your own adventure" album, Afterglow by the Wild Things was produced by none other than The Who's Pete Townshend. My Heart Is In New York is an obvious highlight, an atmospheric piece of heartland rock buoyed by a couple of clever shifts in key and a lovely vocal from Sydney Rae White. “I loved working with the Wild Things on the music that became Afterglow," says Townshend. "The songs are rocking, but also full of nuances and witty cleverness. They are a fireball of energy and creativity and having supported The Who a few times I know they are spectacular live. Every one of them is so talented."
Säilä - Uudelleensyntymä
To be quite frank, we've got no real idea what the hell is going on with this, but two Finnish prog bands in one week must be some sort of record. Uudelleensyntymä – which means 'rebirth', we think – tells a story of the middle of the forest, bubbling rapids, phoenix birds, endless search and betrayal. Or at least that's what Google Translate tells us. Either way, it's an eight-and-a-half-minute, multi-part Finnish-language epic that starts off all Stairway To Heaven and takes in folk, Latin music, psychedelia and classic 70s prog on its way to boggling in our minds in precisely the way our minds like to be boggled. Lovely, unexpected stuff from Säilä, our new favourite band in the world ever.
