What a month it's been for new London band Leadfeather. A few weeks ago they played their first live show, a debut single followed, and now that very same song has topped our Tracks Of The Week poll. If they carry on with this extraordinary trajectory they'll be headlining Download by March, and the festival doesn't even take place until June. Literally wow.
So congratulations to them, and to The Struts and Devin Townsend, who managed to grimly hold on to Leadfeather's tailfeathers before falling away at the death. What a battle it was.
Here are our latest candidates. Look at them. Magnificent.
Larkin Poe - Mockingbird
The omens for the Lovell sisters’ next album, Bloom (due out in January 2025) continue to look seriously strong as they release this honeyed yet rollicking latest taste. Sumptuous, slide-tastic and lyrically commanding, the charismatic Mockingbird grabs you by the gut in a way that feels warm, rocking and introspective all at once. One of the best things they’ve done so far, for our money. Roll on, January.
The Von Hertzen Brothers - Relapse
The opening track from the proggy Finnish brothers’ poppier, punchier new album In Murmuration is a driving whirlwind of big-stage rock, brooding but upbeat sentiments and 80s sax flourishes. “To us, it’s a mix of AC/DC, Queens of the Stone Age, Phil Collins, and maybe a bit of U2,” says guitarist/’rockiest’ sibling Kie Von Hertzen. “All of this is of course served to you with familiar von Hertzen-ian seasoning and a bit of Krautrock sprinkled on top.” If life was fair, they’d be headlining arenas with this stuff.
The Sheepdogs - Handle My Biz
Presenting their second EP in about five minutes (ok, a couple of months) The Sheepdogs’ hot independent streak continues with this gorgeously sweet, ruminative highlight from Hell Together, which is out in November. Sprinkled with moody-cowboy guitar twangs and a beautiful keyboard backbone, it finds frontman Ewan Currie looking honestly at the strange, intense, heightened yet often testing life of a full-time rocker in 2024 – the business of handling his “biz”, in other words. They never fail to deliver.
Massive Wagons - Sleep Forever
“Aggressive, hard, fast... it’s like Motörhead meets Rainbow,” says singer Baz Mills, not unreasonably, of the fired-up, full-tilt opening track from the Lancashire heroes’ next album Earth To Grace. “It has everything to me: huge riffs, gnarly guitars, and Alex's drums are just blistering! Then you throw in the solos from Steve and Adam... it’s got it all I think - a proper headbanger! It was always going to be the album opener, a 100% kick in the face!" Well, who doesn't want that?
DeWolff - Natural Woman
The Cuban-heeled, moustachioed young Dutch dudes find a funky, 70s-rootsy space between The Black Keys and the soulful heritage of Muscle Shoals (where they recorded their upcoming album, also called Muscle Shoals) on this riffed up, organ-whirling new earworm. Cool animated video, too. “Natural Woman is another one of these songs that basically wrote itself,” the band say, “the big guitar riff, the verse and the chorus melodies came to us all at once, as if tapped from some kind of ancient rock ‘n roll well.” Nice.
Mark Morton feat Neil Fallon - The Needle And The Spoon
Lamb Of God guitarist Mark Morton makes a dreamy pairing with Clutch mouthpiece Neil Fallon on this deliciously grungy yet swaggering, soulful take on the Lynyrd Skynyrd classic. Like stepping into a smoke-filled saloon and being handed a tasty bourbon at once. “As a small kid in the ‘70s and ‘80s, southern rock bands were the soundtrack of my youth,” says Morton, whose solo in this is predictably top-notch. “None of them resonated any deeper with me than Lynyrd Skynyrd. Their signature guitar driven blues-rock has had a profound influence on my playing.”
Beth Hart (featuring Slash) - Savior With A Razor
Possibly the most epic blues song of the year, Savior With A Razor kicks like a mule and punches like a heavyweight, with Slash going wild on the wah-wah and Beth Hart wailing as if she's teetering on the edge of the world, about to topple off into the darkness. “Beth Hart is one of my favourite artists to work with,” says Slash. “She is an incredible singer/lyricist on so many levels. But Beth is also as sincere and genuine a friend as they come. She’s amazing." "He’s just a badass with zero ego and knows a lot about the razor’s edge," Beth adds. "I got really lucky."
Jesse Malin - Argentina
In May 2023, singer-songwriter Jesse Malin collapsed after suffering a spinal stroke that left him paralysed from the waist down. Friends rallied around and organised a fundraiser to help pay for his care and rehabilitation, and last month a benefit album was released, featuring contributions from admirers like Bruce Springsteen, Billie Joe Armstrong, Lucinda Williams and Elvis Costello. He returns to the stage in December, but first there's Argentina, written during a six-month stay at a clinic in Buenos Aires and Malin's first new song since the stroke. It's simple, heartfelt, and rather beautiful. "I'm going to South America for reasons of repair" he sings, forlornly. "I'd be lying if I told you that I wasn't scared."
