Wet Leg have announced details of their second album Moisturizer , set for release via Domino on July 11.
The Isle of Wight five-piece, fronted by Rhian Teasdale and Hester Chambers, describe the follow-up to their self-titled 2022 debut album as “fun and freaky and fabulous” and claim it’s “punchier, prettier and more perverted where it counts”.
A press statement from the band’s record label says that Moisturizer, produced by Speedy Wunderground head honcho Dan Carey,is “an album of manic love songs and well-timed kiss-offs, delivered by a clan of the UK’s most beloved oddballs.”
“We were just kind of having fun and exploring,” says Hester Chambers.
Rhian Teasdale adds, “We focussed on: Is this going to be fun to play live? It was very natural that we would write the second record together.”
The first taste of Moisturizer comes with in the form of new single catch these fists, which the good people at Domino describe as “dance-punk par excellence”, and which we’re told was inspired by an interaction with a belligerent man.
Wet Leg – catch these fists (Official Video) – YouTube
Furthermore, we’re informed that Moisturizer contains “love songs of every stripe: stressed-out, gooey-eyed, gratuitously horny, blissed out, obsessive and mysterious”, and that the record is “unapologetically bolder, stronger and raunchier” than anything the group have released in the past.
The group have also announced a short UK headline tour in May. Wet Leg will call at:
May 21: Birmingham O2 Academy May 23: London O2 Academy Brixton May 27: Edinburgh Usher Hall May 28: Leeds O2 Academy May 29: Manchester O2 Victoria Warehouse
Tickets for the tour will be on pre-sale from April 9 at 10am, general sale from April 11 at 10am. Fans can pre-order the album for access to the first pre-sale.
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By all accounts, the ’80s were an ultra-competitive decade for rock bands, but our list of 5 Hair Metal Songs Featuring Big-Name Guest Performers shows that they could occasionally play nice.
As hair metal — or glam metal, or pop-metal, or whatever you want to call it — became the predominant rock subgenre conquering the airwaves, artists and producers alike found that they could multiply their winnings with some timely collaborations.
Some of these guest features allowed rockers to meet their heroes or pay back favors done for them earlier in their careers. Others were planned so that bands could ingratiate themselves with their peers and further monetize their relationship.
Read on to learn more about 5 Hair Metal Songs Featuring Big-Name Guest Performers.
Alice Cooper, “Only My Heart Talkin'” featuring Steven Tyler
With producer and song doctor Desmond Child at the helm, Alice Cooper‘s 1989 comeback album Trash became a star-studded affair. Almost every track features a big-name collaborator, including four-fifths of Aerosmith (sans Brad Whitford), Jon Bon Jovi and Richie Sambora, Kip Winger, Steve Lukather and more. It’s hard to pick just one, but we’ll single out “Only My Heart Talkin’,” the splashy power ballad featuring Steven Tyler that could have easily replaced “Angel” on Aerosmith’s Permanent Vacation.
Want more? In the guitar department, Joe Perry and Sambora bring their signature styles to “House of Fire” and “Hell Is Living Without You,” respectively.
The collaborations continued on Cooper’s next album, Hey Stoopid. Its title track features a searing guitar solo from Slash and backing vocals from Ozzy Osbourne, while standout single “Feed My Frankenstein” features bass from Nikki Sixx and a dual-guitar solo from Steve Vai and Joe Satriani.
Michael Monroe, “Dead, Jail or Rock ‘n’ Roll” featuring Axl Rose
Guns N’ Roses were avowed fans of Hanoi Rocks, so it made perfect sense for Axl Rose to guest on frontman Michael Monroe‘s 1989 solo album Not Fakin’ It. Rose’s banshee wail can be heard briefly on lead single “Dead, Jail or Rock ‘n’ Roll” and title track (and Nazareth cover) “Not Fakin’ It.”
“We were both Nazareth fans,” Monroe explained to Classic Rock in 2023. “It was no surprise to me that he liked them, as I could hear the influence of Dan McCafferty in his singing style. However, he wasn’t familiar with the song ‘Not Fakin’ It,’ which was a Nazareth cover on my album, so knowing that it was a Nazareth song made him like the album even more.”
Monroe later repaid the favor by playing harmonica on Guns N’ Roses’ Use Your Illusion track “Bad Obsession” and singing on their cover of the Dead Boys’ “Ain’t It Fun.” The latter appeared on “The Spaghetti Incident?,” which also featured Guns’ rendition of Nazareth’s “Hair of the Dog.”
Motley Crue, “Slice of Your Pie” featuring Steven Tyler
Motley Crue and Aerosmith both recorded their 1989 albums — Dr. Feelgood and Pump, respectively — at Vancouver’s Little Mountain Sound Studios around the same time, so it was probably easy for Steven Tyler to pop by a session and add some signature vocalizing to the intro of Motley Crue’s “Slice of Your Pie.” The Aerosmith frontman also contributes backing vocals on “Same Ol’ Situation” and “Sticky Sweet” alongside Bryan Adams and Jack Blades.
Other guest performances on the star-studded Dr. Feelgood include Cheap Trick‘s Robin Zander and Rick Nielsen, who sing backup on “She Goes Down,” and Skid Row’s collective backing vocals on “Time for Change.”
Ratt, “Heads I Win, Tails You Lose” Featuring Jon Bon Jovi
Ratt gave Bon Jovi an early career break when they booked the fledgling rockers as their support act on their 1985 tour. Several years later, Jon Bon Jovi returned the favor by singing backup on “Heads I Win, Tails You Lose” off Ratt’s 1990 album Detonator. The LP was co-produced and co-written by Desmond Child, the veteran songwriter who collaborated on Bon Jovi’sSlippery When Wet and New Jersey albums, along with several other blockbuster titles from the era.
“He came in there, yodeled and that was cool, man,” Ratt frontman Stephen Pearcy told Mitch Lafon in 2021. “He threw us a bone for making them so fucking huge.”
Warrant, “Cherry Pie” Featuring C.C. DeVille
Poison and Warrant were two of the biggest and horniest rock bands on the Sunset Strip at the dawn of the ’90s, so a collaboration between them was perfect brand synergy. Warrant frontman Jani Lane invited Poison guitarist C.C. DeVille to cut a solo on the band’s “Cherry Pie” in the hopes of currying their favor and securing a support slot on their tour.
The networking paid off, but Cherry Pie producer Beau Hill wasn’t thrilled with the process. “Sitting in the studio with C.C. was the most painful experience of my life,” Hill said in Richard Bienstock and Tom Beaujour’s 2021 book Nothin’ but a Good Time. “C.C., on a good day, would never come up to my standards of something that I would want to put my name on and release to the public. But I bent over backwards to accommodate the greater good, if you will.”
Despite Hill’s objections, “Cherry Pie” became a Top 10 hit, and DeVille’s chaotic solo complements the song’s outrageous attitude.
The Best Hair Metal Album of Every Year From 1981-1991
In a conversation with Billboard, Gramm described the Hall of Fame event as ”life-changing,” before elaborating on how it impacted his perspective.
“Ever since (the induction) it felt like, personally, I had to find a way to let go of some of the things I’ve been holding onto for years — and, like the song says, let it be,” the singer explained. “It’s a hackneyed sentiment, but it’s true — life’s too short… And a lot of the things that are blown up and made big deals about are easy enough to get over and humble yourself and reach out a little bit, ’cause what you’ve been mad about for the past 20 years is not a monumental thing.”
Gramm’s issues with Foreigner have largely stemmed from his disputes with band founder Mick Jones. The two enjoyed a fruitful creative relationship during their time together, yet also clashed over songwriting credits and direction for the band. Gramm left Foreigner for good in 2003, though he has sporadically made guest appearances with the group.
Jones, whose health has declined due to Parkinson’s disease, was unable to attend the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction.
“I hope he was watching the show,” Gramm acknowledged. “It was a great experience and…a real honor for what all of us, and especially Mick, have accomplished. Our creative partnership was really excellent. I think we were all very proud.”
Lou Gramm Is ‘Good Now’ With Kelly Hansen
Following Gramm’s 2003 departure, Foreigner added singer Kelly Hansen, who has served as frontman for more than 20 years now. Though Gramm has long held a level of resentment towards his replacement, both men performed during the induction ceremony. Once again, the event seems to have quelled bad blood.
“We didn’t have a very good relationship before,” Gramm admitted regarding Hansen. “But it’s good now.”
“I’m glad he feels that way,” Hansen noted to Billboard in a separate interview. “Hopefully we’re gonna be having a lot of the original guys come on stage here and coming out for our 50th anniversary, which is next year. That’s kind of full circle. We like that energy, and I think everyone understands how fortunate we all are to have been part of this legacy and enjoy the commonality of this legacy.”
Gramm recently made a surprise appearance with Foreigner during their March 15 performance in Clearwater, Florida. Shortly afterward, the band announced that the singer would join them for an eight-date run through Mexico and South America beginning April 28 (Hansen will not take part due to “residency issues”). Gramm expressed hope that his work with Foreigner will continue once these shows are done.
“I don’t think there’s any contrivance or people questioning the reason why I would be up there with that band,” the singer noted. “[The modern lineup of Foreigner] is something Mick wanted to do after we parted company, and he did a great job and they’ve done a great job over the last two decades of keeping the name up there and flying the flag. They deserve a lot of credit.”
Foreigner Albums Ranked
It’s hard to imagine rock radio without the string of hit singles Foreigner peeled off in the ’70s and ’80s.
Kid Rock visited the White House today to continue his campaign against corruption in the ticketing industry, speaking out as President Trump signed an Executive Order addressing the subject.
You can see dozens of pictures of Trump and the star-spangled suit-wearing Rock below.
“Anyone who has bought a concert ticket in the last decade, maybe 20 years, no matter what, knows it is a conundrum,” Rock said of the bots and algorithms used to quickly snap up the best tickets for popular concerts, noting that both fans and artists are hurt by this extra layer of profit-taking. “[T]hey get all the good tickets to your favorite shows you want to go to, and then they are relisted immediately sometimes for a 4[00], 500 percent markup.”
After Trump was elected for a second term last November, his longtime supporter Rock visited with then-incoming Attorney General Pam Bondi and left the meeting promising to “open a can of whoop ass on the bots, scalpers, venues, ticketing companies, managers and artists alike who rip off and deceive the public with the horse shit that has gone on for decades and only gotten worse.”
The Executive Order Trump signed today is not a new law. It is simply, as the American Civil Liberties Union explains, “a written directive, signed by the president, that orders the government to take specific actions to ensure ‘the [existing] laws be faithfully executed.'”
As Deadline explains, today’s Executive Order simply directs the Federal Trade Commission to work with the Attorney General to make sure existing laws are enforced.
“Ultimately, I think this is a great first step,” Rock declared in the Oval Office. “I would love down the road if there’d be some legislation that could actually put a cap on the resale of tickets.”
Kid Rock Attends as President Trump Signs Executive Order on Concert Ticket Reselling
Kid Rock is a longtime Trump supporter who has been speaking out about ticket reselling scams.
This list brings together ten memorable tracks where “everything” takes center stage, each offering a distinct perspective within the genre.
Jethro Tull’s “A Time for Everything?” blends progressive rock with folk influences, highlighting the band’s signature approach to introspective storytelling. Bread’s “Everything I Own” resonates as a heartfelt ballad of love and loss, showcasing David Gates’ smooth, emotive vocal style. Cyndi Lauper’s “Money Changes Everything” delivers a sharp new wave edge, reflecting on how relationships shift when finances come into play. Bryan Adams’ “(Everything I Do) I Do It for You” epitomizes the power ballad, blending earnest lyricism with a sweeping rock arrangement. Sammy Hagar’s “I’ve Done Everything for You” pulses with rock bravado, channeling frustration into a high-energy performance.
Stevie Wonder’s “Uptight (Everything’s Alright)” marks a turning point in his career, fusing soul and pop into an infectious groove. The Mojos’ “Everything’s Alright” bursts with Merseybeat vibrancy, driven by its upbeat tempo and catchy hooks. Mountain’s rendition of “Everything Is Broken” reinvents Bob Dylan’s original with gritty, hard rock intensity. The Kinks’ “She’s Got Everything” captures the band’s early rock sound, brimming with raw energy and charm. Finally, Nina Simone’s “Everything Must Change” is a poignant meditation on life’s inevitabilities, delivered with her unparalleled depth and vocal warmth.
# 10 – A Time for Everything – Jethro Tull
Jethro Tull’s “A Time for Everything?” from the album Benefit (1970) was recorded between September 1969 and February 1970 at Morgan Studios in London. The track features Ian Anderson on vocals, flute, and acoustic guitar; Martin Barre on electric guitar; Glenn Cornick on bass guitar; Clive Bunker on drums; and John Evan on piano. The album was produced by Ian Anderson and Terry Ellis. Benefit reached number three on the UK Albums Chart and number eleven on the Billboard 200.
At number nine, we turn to Lauper’s great rocker “Money Changes Everything.” This has always been my favorite Cyndi Lauper song. It’s got such a great punk rock vibe.Cyndi Lauper’s “Money Changes Everything” was recorded in 1983 and released as part of her debut album She’s So Unusual. The song, originally written by Tom Gray and first recorded by The Brains in 1978, was produced by Rick Chertoff and recorded at Record Plant Studios in New York City.
The lineup for this track included Cyndi Lauper on vocals, featured soon to be Hooters’ Rob Hyman on keyboards and Eric Bazilian on guitar, with Anton Fig on drums, and William Wittman on bass. Released as the fifth single from the album in 1984, “Money Changes Everything” charted at number 27 on the Billboard Hot 100.
# 8 – (Everything I Do) I Do It For You – Bryan Adams
Bryan Adams’ “(Everything I Do) I Do It for You” was recorded in 1991 at the Battery Studios in London and released as part of the album Waking Up the Neighbours. The song was co-written by Bryan Adams, Michael Kamen, and Robert John “Mutt” Lange, with production handled by Adams and Lange. Musicians on the track include Bryan Adams on vocals and guitar, Keith Scott on guitar, Dave Taylor on bass, Mickey Curry on drums, and Larry Klein on keyboards.
Originally featured on the soundtrack of the film Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, the song became a global hit, topping the charts in 30 countries, including a record-breaking 16 consecutive weeks at number one on the UK Singles Chart and seven weeks at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States. The song’s sweeping ballad style, driven by Adams’ emotional vocals and the song’s orchestral arrangement, made it one of the most successful singles of all time and earned a Grammy Award for Best Song Written Specifically for a Motion Picture or Television.
I’m sorry, Rick. You did a great job, and of course, the song was a smash hit, but we are going to go with Sammy’s version. Sammy Hagar’s “I’ve Done Everything for You” was recorded in 1978 and released on his live album All Night Long in 1979. The track was written by Hagar himself and produced by John Carter. Recorded during Hagar’s 1978 tour, the live version features Hagar on vocals and guitar, Bill Church on bass, Alan Fitzgerald on keyboards, Gary Pihl on guitar, and David Lauser on drums. The song later gained significant popularity when covered by Rick Springfield in 1981, reaching number eight on the Billboard Hot 100.
Stevie Wonder’s “Uptight (Everything’s Alright)” was recorded in 1965 at Hitsville U.S.A. (Studio A) in Detroit, Michigan, and released as a single by Motown’s Tamla label in November 1965. The song was co-written by Stevie Wonder, Sylvia Moy, and Henry Cosby, with production handled by Moy and Cosby. The track features Wonder on lead vocals and harmonica, accompanied by the Funk Brothers, Motown’s legendary house band, who provided the instrumental backing. “Uptight (Everything’s Alright)” marked a turning point in Wonder’s career, becoming his first major hit since his early success with “Fingertips.”
The song’s upbeat, driving rhythm and Wonder’s exuberant vocal performance captured audiences, propelling it to number three on the Billboard Hot 100 and number one on the Billboard R&B Singles chart. Critically acclaimed for its vibrant energy and the maturity of Wonder’s vocal delivery, the song established him as a prominent voice in the Motown stable and set the stage for his evolution as a songwriter and performer.
The Mojos’ “Everything’s Alright” was recorded in 1964 and released as a single on Decca Records. The song was written by the band’s lead vocalist, Stuart James, and was produced by Tony Hatch. The Mojos, a Merseybeat group from Liverpool, featured Stuart James on vocals, Terry O’Toole on keyboards, Keith Karlson on bass, Nicky Crouch on guitar, and Aynsley Dunbar on drums. “Everything’s Alright” became the band’s most successful single, reaching number nine on the UK Singles Chart.
The song’s high-energy beat and catchy melody made it a quintessential example of the Merseybeat sound, characterized by its upbeat rhythm and infectious chorus. Despite the band’s short-lived chart success, “Everything’s Alright” remains their most memorable track, capturing the raw spirit of British rock during the early 1960s.
Mountain’s cover of “Everything Is Broken” was recorded in 2007 and released as part of the album Masters of War. The song, originally written and recorded by Bob Dylan in 1989, was reinterpreted by Mountain as part of their tribute to Dylan’s work. The album was produced by Leslie West and Corky Laing and recorded at various studios, including Levon Helm Studios in Woodstock, New York.
The lineup for this track featured Leslie West on guitar and vocals, Corky Laing on drums, and Richie Scarlet on bass. Known for its gritty, hard rock sound, Mountain’s version of “Everything Is Broken” delivers a heavier, more distorted take compared to Dylan’s blues-rock original, maintaining the song’s sense of disillusionment while infusing it with the band’s signature style. Though not released as a single, the track contributed to the album’s critical reception, with Masters of War noted for its raw and powerful interpretations of Dylan’s protest songs.
If this one doesn’t hit you hard, then you’re just not listening. Nina Simone’s “Everything Must Change” was recorded in 1978 as part of her album Baltimore, produced by Creed Taylor and recorded at CTI Records in New York City. The song, written by Benard Ighner, features Simone on vocals and piano, with arrangements that blend jazz, soul, and pop elements. The album’s musicians include Eric Gale on guitar, Gary King on bass, Steve Gadd on drums, and David Matthews as the arranger and conductor. “Everything Must Change” stands out for its melancholic yet hopeful tone, reflecting on the inevitability of change and life’s cyclical nature.
Don’t you just love that guitar sound and iconic chord changes that The Kinks were so famous for. The Kinks’ “She’s Got Everything” was recorded in February 1966 at Pye Studios in London and was produced by Shel Talmy. Written by Ray Davies, the song features the classic Kinks lineup with Ray Davies on vocals and rhythm guitar, Dave Davies on lead guitar and backing vocals, Pete Quaife on bass, and Mick Avory on drums. Initially recorded during the sessions for the album Face to Face, the track was not released until 1968 as the B-side to the single “Days.”
We had no choice but to close that list out with this tear-jerker by Bread. “Everything I Own” was recorded in 1972 and released as part of the album Baby I’m-a Want You. The song was written by David Gates, who also performed lead vocals and played guitar, piano, and bass. The band’s lineup for the track included James Griffin on guitar and vocals, Robb Royer on bass and guitar, and Mike Botts on drums. The album was produced by David Gates and recorded at Elektra Sound Recorders in Los Angeles. Upon its release, “Everything I Own” became a significant hit, reaching number five on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the United States and number 32 on the UK Singles Chart. The song’s soft rock balladry and emotional lyrics resonated widely, solidifying Bread’s reputation for crafting melodic and heartfelt songs during the early 1970s.
You can’t fault rock stars for struggling to hang it up. Getting old isn’t easy. There’s a sense of relief when you say, “I’m done, I’m retired.” Nonetheless, after a bit of time off the road, you start missing the roaring crowds, the adulation, and just playing music. So, here we go again—and you know what? I’m pretty freaking happy about it. I love KISS.
When KISS played their supposedly final performance at Madison Square Garden, how many rock and roll fans who have been around the block a few times really believed that would be the last time Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons would ever perform on stage together as KISS? I mean, that’s like saying Elton John has truly retired. These are rock and roll stars who have spent almost their entire lives performing in front of crowds that go absolutely wild. You just can’t give that up. No matter how many times you announce a farewell tour or a farewell performance, one should understand that no matter how much pain your body may be in, or how sick and tired you may be of touring and performing, if you’re still breathing, you’re going to want to get back on that stage again.
Babymetal have announced details of their forthcoming album METAL FORTH and revealed that it features collaborations with a ‘who’s who’ of modern metal trailblazers.
Set for release on June 13th via Capitol Records, the trio’s follow-up to 2023’s The Other One, which is billed as “beyond metal”, will include collabs with Poppy, Spiritbox, Bloodywood, Rage Against The Mahine’s Tom Morello, Polyphia and Slaughter to Prevail, all artists who the Japanese kawaii-metal superstars have connected with while touring the globe. It will also feature RATATATA, their collaboration with Electric Callboy, which was released as a single last year.
In December Bloodywood released a collab with Babymetal titled Bekhauf. – ‘fearless’ in Hindi – but Metal Forth will feature another hook-up with the fast-rising New Delhi band, titled Kon! Kon!Polyphia previously joined SU-METAL, MOAMETAL and MOMOMETAL for a performance of their song Brand New Day at the Saitama Super Arena in Tokyo, and the Texan band had previously stated that they would be recording two collaborations with the Japanese band, one for release on their follow-up to Remember That You Will Die. The full album tracklisting for METAL FORTH is as follows:
1. from me to u (feat. Poppy) 2. RATATATA (BABYMETAL x Electric Callboy) 3. Song 3 (BABYMETAL x Slaughter to Prevail) 4. Kon! Kon! (feat. Bloodywood) 5. KxAxWxAxIxI 6. Sunset Kiss (feat. Polyphia) 7. My Queen (feat. Spiritbox) 8. Algorism 9. METALI!! (feat. Tom Morello) 10. White Flame ー白炎ー
(Image credit: Capitol Records)
A new single from the record, opening track from me to u, featuring Poppy will arrive on Friday, April 4.
Poppy will be supporting Babymetal on their upcoming European arena tour, which kicks on May 10 in Brussels, Belgium at the Forest National.
Those dates are:
May 10: Brussels Forest National, Belgium May 12: Hamburg Barclays Arena, Germany May 13: Amsterdam Ziggo Dome, Netherlands May 16: Frankfurt Jahrhunderthalle, Germany May 17: Berlin Velodrom, Germany May 19: Krakow Tauron Arena, Poland May 20: Nüremberg Arena Nürenberger, Germany May 22: Zurich The Hall, Switzerland May 25: Madrid Vistalegre, Spain May 26: Barcelona Poble Espanyol, Spain May 28: Paris Zénith Paris France May 30: London O2 Arena, UK
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A music writer since 1993, formerly Editor of Kerrang! and Planet Rock magazine (RIP), Paul Brannigan is a Contributing Editor to Louder. Having previously written books on Lemmy, Dave Grohl (the Sunday Times best-seller This Is A Call) and Metallica (Birth School Metallica Death, co-authored with Ian Winwood), his Eddie Van Halen biography (Eruption in the UK, Unchained in the US) emerged in 2021. He has written for Rolling Stone, Mojo and Q, hung out with Fugazi at Dischord House, flown on Ozzy Osbourne’s private jet, played Angus Young’s Gibson SG, and interviewed everyone from Aerosmith and Beastie Boys to Young Gods and ZZ Top. Born in the North of Ireland, Brannigan lives in North London and supports The Arsenal.
Our latest Tracks Of The Week extravaganza was a titanic battle, with French multi-instrumentalist-turned-rock-ace Lucie Sue triumphing over lead Strut Luke Spiller by the slimmest of margins. Buckcherry’s new song came in third, but really, it was the LS versus LS battle that took the breath away. So congratulations to both.
This week, just like every other, we’ve found another eight songs to titillate your ear sockets. Our super-sized selection of supreme sonic splendour is below.
When Rivers Meet – Break Free
One of those deceptively straight-shooting blues rockers that gets juicier and more interesting by the beat, Break Free packs a lot into its three-and-a-half-minute runtime. With guitarist Aaron Bond taking lead vocals, it finds the husband n’ wife duo rolling from bluesy opening riffage into a deeper, meatier chorus and spaced-out spirals – all of it fleshed out with rich 70s-tastic organ layers and the voice of singer (and violinist/mandolinist) Grace soaring over the top of it all. Nice.
Break Free {Lyric Video} | WHEN RIVERS MEET – YouTube
Mark Morton Come December (feat Charlie Starr & Jason Isbell)
The Lamb Of God guitarist is joined by Blackberry Smoke’s Charlie Starr on vocals, with Jason Isbell delivering a stunning slide guitar solo, on this beautiful ballad from his new solo album Without The Pain. Oh, and Morton’s no slouch either, processing his demons with melodious tenderness in stirring verses and a highly singable chorus. The whole record is stuffed with quality rootsified rock voices (Tyler Bryant, Neil Fallon and Jaren Johnston are just three collaborators), but this might be our favourite union. 21st century southern rock of real class.
Mark Morton – “Come December” feat. Charlie Starr & Jason Isbell (Official Lyric Video) – YouTube
Just when you thought he couldn’t spin any more plates without having some sort of cardiac arrest (in addition to tours, producing other artists, Black Country Communion plans, Rory Gallagher-tribute-in-Ireland plans, cruises, festivals, more tours…) Joe drops a new taste of his upcoming solo album. Billed as “an uplifting tribute to resilience, redemption, and the people who stick with us even when we don’t deserve it”, Still Walking With Me is a sunshiney, feelgood affair, all classic soulful blues with a generous spring in its step. He makes it look easy, in a good way.
Joe Bonamassa “Still Walking With Me” – Official Music Video – YouTube
With its parent album, Metro, centred on a protagonist navigating a dystopian subway (capturing “a personified version of their darker side” in the process) – and justified comparisons to Royal Blood abounding – you’d expect this Canadian duo’s new single to be a blackened, gritty affair. It is, sort of, but it’s also imbued with raw, cathartic feeling; bluesy and industrial in one sense, heartbreaking yet hopeful in another. Like the tentatively optimistic light at the end of a dark, apocalyptic tunnel.
The Blue Stones – Happy Cry (Official Lyric Video) – YouTube
We’ll be honest: we didn’t know that we needed a country ode to post-coital flatulence in our lives. Enter The Darkness, here to prove that we actually do need such a song with the enchantingly sweet, silly, immaculately executed Hot On My Tail – all acoustic strums, gauzy harmonies and bittersweet melodic twists in all the right places. And lyrics about farting. Think Queen with cowboy boots, ELO and Monty Python hovering close by, and you’re in the right ballpark.
The Darkness – Hot on My Tail (Official Visualiser) – YouTube
Matt C White grew up in rural North Carolina on a diet of Soundgarden, Mastodon and Mars Volta tunes. You can totally hear all that in the riffy, bonged out textures of The Way Down. It kicks off on a heavy stoner note, all head-swirling guitars and slinky bassline, but it’s that groovy beefcake of a chorus that really grabs you. The overall effect is kind of All Them Witches-esque, but rawer and spikier – less ayahuasca luxe, more jamming in your garage with a few fat joints, a stack of grunge and 60s psych records and a giant amp stack.
Hollow Souls feat. Jared James Nichols – Borderline
Good old Kris Barras, he of the Kris Barras Band, has a new project. Hollow Souls describe themselves as “an exciting new musical collective”, and see Barras returning to the blues-rock template of his earliest work, with former KBB backing vocalist Phoebe Jane lighting a fire up front and US blueser Jared James Nichols burning rubber on the solo. “I have really admired Jared’s playing for some time,” says Barras. “His contribution to this song is massive, we gave him creative license to play whatever he wanted. I am so stoked with the results.” Catch ’em live in the UK this winter.
Hollow Souls feat. Jared James Nichols – Borderline (Official Music Video) – YouTube
Good old Cormac Neeson, he of Irish rockers The Answer, also has a new project. California Irish describe themselves as having a “psychedelic folk-rock sound”, and Big Question has a relaxed vibe indeed, conjuring up images of poolside parties at hip Laurel Canyon addresses, with spliffs passed around loon-panted attendees and free love in the air. The band’s debut album, The Mountains Are My Friends, is out in May. “This album is the opposite of boring AI-generated no soul perfection,” boasts Neeson. “We recorded this album in a room together over four days, allowing the music to breathe when it needed to, looking at each other for our cues and feeding off each other’s energy. It felt like a dream… but it’s the most real thing I’ve ever done in music.”
‘Big Questions’ In The Studio (Official Video) – YouTube
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The Darkness – Permission To Land
(Image credit: V2 Records)
Blacken My Thumb That Sure Ain’t Right Girls Best Friend Messin’ Around Cherry Lane Get Up! (Don’t Fight It) Hong Kong Fury What I’ve Lost You Can’t Find Me Don’t Come Knocking Lucille I Got No Words
The Datsuns relocated to the UK in 2002, looking like Led Zeppelin with ironed hair, and sounding much the same. The trousers were tight, the guitars were wielded like weapons and, with a garage sound closer to The MC5 than to Crowded House, the fact that The Datsuns are from New Zealand was easily overlooked.
Two years later a second album arrived. It was a collection of sweaty, fuzzed-up rock, this time produced by (and also with keyboards by) ex-Zep man John Paul Jones. Outta Sight/Outta Mind didn’t have the immediacy of tracks like Harmonic Generator or Motherfucker From Hell (from their eponymous debut) but it was a raucous 40 minutes filled with strident guitar breaks and Plant-esque lung bursts that adhered to all the right rock clichés without once encroaching into Darkness territory.
Blacken My Thumb was a vicious opener, and the pace didn’t relent from there. Messin’ Around was pure ZZ Top with its low-slung riffs and no-nonsense drumming, Get Up! (Don’t Fight It) was cartoon punk – like I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction in a tearing hurry – and Hong Kong Fury was a future live favourite with its Who bass flurries and mantra-like chorus.
Every week, Album of the Week Club listens to and discusses the album in question, votes on how good it is, and publishes our findings, with the aim of giving people reliable reviews and the wider rock community the chance to contribute.
Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge – My Chemical Romance
Dark Matter – IQ
Disclaimer II – Seether
Hot Fuss – The Killers
Undermind – Phish
Gettin’ in Over My Head – Brian Wilson
A Ghost Is Born – Wilco
Houses of the Molé – Ministry
Inferno – Motörhead
Power of the Blues – Gary Moore
Unbreakable – Scorpions
Will to Death – John Frusciante
The Cure – The Cure
The Eye of Every Storm – Neurosis
The Gorge – Dave Matthews Band
Hollywood Potato Chip – The Vandals
In Between Evolution – The Tragically Hip
This Magnificent Distance – Chris Robinson
Mojave – Concrete Blonde
Revival – The Reverend Horton Heat
Watch Out! – Alexisonfire
We Are Not Alone – Breaking Benjamin
White2 – Sunn O)))
What they said…
“The simple fact is this: how can you sit through the V8 revving of Blacken My Thumb and still want to intellectualise rock? It should make any self-conscious critic pitch forward onto the carpet, shuddering and sobbing, “Oh Jesus, oh Jesus!” The only thing your thesaurus is good for here, dweeb, is for soaking up the juice after the Thorogoodly rockin’ Messin’ Around has pummeled you into a fine, bloody mist. (Stylus)
“Antipodean hairies The Datsuns’ strategy for that ‘difficult second album’ has been to come back as even more purified retro than they were before. Outta Sight/Outta Mind‘s cover imagery reeks of the 1970s; the rear cover loudly proclaims ‘produced by Jean Paul Jones’ – of Led Zeppelin. Layers of screaming guitars do their best to insist that the Stooges and Deep Purple never did this stuff better.” (The Guardian)
“This might be ok if there was a tune to pick up on or, like The Darkness, some hint of irony. That Sure Ain’t Right and You Can’t Find Me have an agreeable shade of glam, but even the promisingly-titled Hong Kong Fury remains stuck to their pedestrian blueprint of third division boogie. In other words, for people awaiting that second Jet album, this should prove a welcome distraction from their crayons. For the rest of us it’s a look of bemusement and a scratched head.” (Yahoo!)
What you said…
Gary Claydon: One of a plethora of ‘The -‘ bands that cropped up around the turn of the century, The Datsuns relocated to London from their native NZ in time for the release of their debut album. There was quite a buzz around them and the debut showed some promise with its raw, garage take on early 70s hard rock, with an obvious nod to the likes of The Ramones. They were also one-third of an Antipodean assault that threatened world domination but was, ultimately, doomed to fail. Jet had some moderate success but in the end barely made it off the runway, The Vines withered and died (much of it self-inflicted), and The Datsuns came blasting down the motorway slip road only to find themselves conked out and stuck on the hard shoulder a mile later.
The ‘difficult’ second album is a disappointment. Not exactly bad but certainly not good. The problem with being determinedly retro in outlook is, if you’re not careful, you’re in danger of backing yourself into a musical cul-de-sac. You have to be really good at it or start making your own imprint. The Datsuns do neither. John Paul Jones’ production rounds the edges a little but that’s not necessarily a good thing as some of the raw quality is lost. There is nothing here as memorable as the raucous Motherfucker From Hell on the debut. Lyrically, much of it is pretty feeble and you’d like to think it’s mostly tongue-in-cheek, but there seems to be a lack of self-awareness, and much of it comes across as outdated cock-rock posturing.
In the end, The Datsuns simply petered out. The Hives were much cooler, The Darkness funnier and bands such as The Donnas and BRMC were simply better. Another to take at face value, in which case it’s 40 or so minutes of uncomplicated garage rock. Bottom line, though, is – it’s very aptly titled.
Greg Schwepe: If The Datsuns’ Outta Sight/Outta Mind delivered on one thing, it was 40 minutes of high-energy Kiwi rock. Enough to keep me motivated and power through a mind-numbing treadmill run after the weather forced me indoors. “OK, Datsuns, work your magic here.”
The 12 songs vary from fast “punky” guitar fests to stuff that kind of sounds like sped-up “sludgy” Sabbath. Lots of riffs and licks to stick with you. And I’ve said this before, why is it for me all New Zealand and Aussie bands all seem to have this great attitude of “hey, let’s all rock and have a good time” vibe about them?
Favourite tracks turned out to be Hong Kong Fury, Cherry Lane and Lucille.
If this is to be my only interaction with The Datsuns (and probably will be), then job well done. Had I bought this back in the day, I could see this one getting played over and over, enjoying the varied but consistent songs. But I could also have seen myself dutifully buying their next release, playing it a few times, then going, “Hmmm… nice group, but a little bored now… next!” 8 out of 10 on this one for me.
Chris Elliott: It’s okay. It huffs and puffs for a while – doesn’t offend – but I have no real desire to hear it again. Like a rawer version of The Strokes – just as referential.
Tom Coleman: Good album, not as good as the first, but still a solid listen.
Nigel Mawdsley: I’ve not heard much by The Datsuns. First impressions of this album is that it sounds like The Clash incorporating chunky rock riffs! Worth another listen.
Mark Veitch: Even if this had been released in the 70s it would have been as dull as dishwater.
Brian Carr: Dave Grohl helped me gain some level of understanding and appreciation for punk music, but that still doesn’t mean I like it. The punky vocals on Outta Sight/Outta Mind by The Datsuns might have led a younger me to dismiss the record straight away and I would have missed out on some fairly killer riffage – the guitar definitely doesn’t sound punk. Ultimately, it’s our second straight album that I like musically, but dislike due to the vocals.
Final score: 5.92 (26 votes cast, total score 154)
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“She was looking at her pill bottles. I knew she was going to die so I was like, ‘Put it down. Live right now’”: Mastodon’s Bill Kelliher wrote songs for Emperor Of Sand at his mum’s deathbed
(Image credit: Jimmy Hubbard)
A family tragedy fuelled the creative fires behind Mastodon’s seventh album Emperor Of Sand. In 2017 Prog met Brann Dailor and Bill Kelliher to discuss the band’s proggiest release since Crack The Skye.
He’s out there somewhere: a lone figure in the middle of the desert. He doesn’t know how to go forward and he can’t go back. Eddies of sand swirl up around him until he disappears out of sight and becomes part of the landscape, a speck of sand among the endless swell of dunes. The sun’s almost at its highest and there’s no water and no shade.
Then, at the periphery of his vision, something moves on the horizon. He shades his eyes to make out the figure that’s approaching. His skin suddenly prickles, turning cold in the sweltering heat. Run, he thinks, but to where? The desert reaches out beyond until it falls into the sky. And the shadow is almost upon him.
“People always get lost in our songs and on our records; there’s always a character trying to find something or someone. It’s like dreams, confused, ‘Where the hell am I?’” Mastodon guitarist Bill Kelliher is also far from home. He’s flown from Atlanta to the UK, and Prog is sitting with him on the fourth floor of his label’s London office off Kensington High Street. Drummer Brann Dailor is seated next to him.
They’re here to talk about their seventh album, Emperor Of Sand, its concept and genealogy – and the bogeyman who haunts the grooves of the record and the dreams of the album’s protagonist. “He’s a metaphor, some kind of Grim Reaper,” says Dailor. “Not a good feeling from that guy, the Emperor.”
It’s a concept album with the hero on the run from a death sentence, with a fate worse than that haunting his every step among the endless dunes. So far, so fantastical – and so very Mastodon. But as Kelliher says: “It all came from a very real place.”
Mastodon – Show Yourself [Official Music Video] – YouTube
While the band were making the record, his mother was dying of cancer. He talks now about sitting by her bedside as she slept. After he’d fed her and held her hand, he’d put his headphones on, plug his guitar into his computer and write and play at her side as her life force diminished, bringing songs to life even in the throes of death. “I had to do something to stop myself going crazy,” he says. “To stop from crying my eyes out.”
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There’s a cancer ad here in the UK where the patient is portrayed as vulnerable and lost in a faceless, icy tundra, the wind ripping at his clothes, the snow blinding his eyes until a nurse reaches out to him and brings him back to the world. Given Kelliher’s predicament and the fate of his mother, it’s not too difficult to make the transition from a frozen world to the baking sands of an arid, dusty hell.
“That’s how I felt when I lost my ma to cancer,” says Kelliher. “She was wandering lost in her own mind. If you can get a message out of the lyrics and the record and everything it’s, ‘Live in the moment, because you never know.’ When you get handed that death sentence, you’re searching for something – ‘What can I do? Where can I find a cure? What doctors can I call?’ Every day my ma was looking at her pill bottles, and I knew she was going to die, so I was like, ‘Put it down; don’t worry about it. Live right now.’ It’s the little things you get caught up in. You never know when your time’s going to be up.”
There are kids going, ‘My dad turned me on to you guys.’ I’m like, ‘How old are you? How old am I?!’
Bill Kelliher
The old adage goes that art comes out of adversity, and the death was the spark that lit Mastodon’s creative fire. In Emperor Of Sand they’ve made an album that typifies the unique place they occupy in modern music. It’s enigmatic and driven, with a brilliant, almost compressed sheen; it oozes melody but clanks and hammers like an old steam train taking a hill. It’s full of surprises.
It’s 17 years since Dailor and Kelliher left Victor, New York, and movedto Atlanta to form Mastodon with bassist Troy Sanders and guitarist Brent Hinds. It’s 15 years since they released their debut album Remission. Though it lacked some of the subtlety and grace of their later work, its ferocity was to be admired and not ignored. Displaying a fascination with ‘Elephant Man’ Joseph Merrick, it helped define some of the band’s frenzied tropes.
“We keep evolving,” says Kelliher, “but it’s subconsciously. We’re human beings; we’re getting older – we’re experiencing more things. If you put that first record next to this record, it’s two totally different bands because we’re totally different people.”
Mastodon – Steambreather [Official Music Video] – YouTube
In the space between their first and latest albums they dropped pills, drank liquor, touched the sky, and sang about Moby Dick, colonies of Birchmen and a Blood Mountain. They played prog, rocked out, made metal and crafted their art. In summer 2014 they released Once More ’Round The Sun, an album that embraced their experimental bent and spiraling, escalating arrangements with a newer, more cohesive sense of songwriting. It was an altogether sharper and more focused Mastodon.
“With the last few records, we’ve seen girls at the front screaming and singing along to the songs – I never expected to see that,” says Kelliher. “There are kids there going, ‘My dad turned me on to you guys.’ I’m like, ‘Your dad? How fucking old are you? How old am I?!’ But I feel that each record has to outdo the last and keep going on a trajectory to a different place – which I feel we do. I like this area we’re in right now; I love the type of songs we’re doing.”
For Emperor Of Sand they took a slight U-turn and reached out to producer Brendan O’Brien (Pearl Jam, Rage Against The Machine), who first worked with Mastodon on 2009’s Crack The Skye. “We were thinking maybe Tony Visconti at first,” says Dailor. “We were loving the new Bowie record – it reminded the world how great Visconti is too. I went to New York and I was going to meet with him, but I didn’t do it. I wasn’t sure where everyone in our band was at; are we really going to go to New York to do a record? It just seemed like a bad idea. Bill was going through a horrible situation; Troy was going through some stuff as well, I didn’t have the best situation going on, Brent was butterflying around, doing his GTO band…”
Brendan O’Brien said, ‘You guys are writing pop music: it’s like a bunch of crazy people writing pop songs!’
Brann Dailor
“And Brendan’s from the Atlanta area,” says Kelliher. “We wanted someone we could trust and we had a studio in mind, The Quarry, in Kennesaw. It’s a drive, but we could still sleep in our beds every night. We needed that base to make it work.”
“I think it was important for us to have some familiarity – and let’s not forget, it’s Brendan O’Brien!” says Dailor. “He understands that fine line between prog, catchy melodies, metal… He said, ‘You guys are writing pop music: it’s like a bunch of crazy people writing pop songs!’”
Picking up where they’d left off with O’Brien wasn’t a problem. “It was like seeing an old friend,” says Kelliher. “‘Let’s all make a beautiful record together.’ He was very excited about it and was there hands-on 24/7 – the band needed that. I felt more camaraderie with Brendan on this record, just because of where I was in my life. With Crack The Skye it was mostly Brent, his riffs and his songs that we all helped put together. It was more his vision, him and Brendan. With this it was kind of the other way around. I felt closer to it; not in control of the ship necessarily, but getting my input in and bouncing ideas off him. It was great.”
“Also, he’s very committed to a fast decision,” says Dailor. “Even when it comes to deciding where you’re going to eat! He has this spontaneity: ‘Did you say you had an idea for this vocal part? Go sing it; great, let’s keep it – that works, let’s finish it.’ And it doesn’t have to be perfect as long as it has the energy, which he’s great at capturing. On Crack The Skye he was like, ‘Let’s get into some percussion.’ I was like, ‘I don’t play percussion,’ but then I did!”
Bassist Troy Sanders has stated that Emperor Of Sand “ties into our entire discography,” adding: “It’s 17 years in the making, but it’s also a direct reaction to the last two years. We draw inspiration from very real things in our lives.”
Dailor reflects that the lead protagonist dies, and is yet saved, at the story’s end. Whether it’s an allegory for the ravages of cancer and the loneliness and suffering brought on by terminal illness, or simply the story of a lost soul trying to find his way through endless desert sands with Death at his shoulder, the message is implicit: Mastodon are moving forward, progressing ever further. Here they come, blinking into the light.
Mastodon – Clandestiny [Official Music Video] – YouTube
Philip Wilding is a novelist, journalist, scriptwriter, biographer and radio producer. As a young journalist he criss-crossed most of the United States with bands like Motley Crue, Kiss and Poison (think the Almost Famous movie but with more hairspray). More latterly, he’s sat down to chat with bands like the slightly more erudite Manic Street Preachers, Afghan Whigs, Rush and Marillion.
![Mastodon - Show Yourself [Official Music Video] - YouTube](https://img.youtube.com/vi/gUGda7GdZPQ/maxresdefault.jpg)
![Mastodon - Steambreather [Official Music Video] - YouTube](https://img.youtube.com/vi/HEubrZV04b0/maxresdefault.jpg)
![Mastodon - Sultan's Curse [Tour Visual] - YouTube](https://img.youtube.com/vi/ClZIQ-B__gQ/maxresdefault.jpg)
![Mastodon - Clandestiny [Official Music Video] - YouTube](https://img.youtube.com/vi/5a8442i-X6A/maxresdefault.jpg)