April Playlist from RPM

April Playlist from RPM

 

 

Well, these are strange times and Rock and Roll won’t be clamped down even if we are.  Thanks to the magic of this here interweb we can still get our mitts on new music (gloved up of course) first up on this playlist is a right banger from Noo Yawk Citys Wyldlife . It’s recently been reviewed on RPM and I happen to agree with Ben when he claimed it could be a contender for record of the year. We have added ‘Sacre Bleu’ to our banging playlist.

 

Next up is a band from Sweden called Dictator Ship and Fraser covered this one and ‘Your Favourite’ is a great slice of scandiRock with ‘Eat The Poor’ making the cut in our Playlist.

 

Australia is quickly becoming the epicentre of Global Garage Rock and you sure can add The Chats to that list of fine Australian bands and with their recent record ‘High Risk Behaviour’ hitting the shelves we’ve included ‘ The Kids Need Guns’ to our playlist with its classic DC early days rawness and their snotty lyrics The Chats rightly are causing a stir around this globe all of their own.

It’s not all snotty records this month we did have some offerings from the Classic Rock and Grunge crossover of Buffalo Summer so included the excellent ‘Hit The Ground Running’ taken off their recently released album ‘Desolation Blue’ with some fine cool slide on the otherwise beefy riffs it’s a real tour de force from Soth Wales on this new album.

 

It might have been a lifetime ago that The Psychedelic Furs last released a new album but the wait is over and Made Of Rain is almost upon us.  We’ve included the first single taken from the record ‘You’ll Be Mine’.

Naked Six have a new album out and the lead track off that album is ’21st Century Brawl’ and that makes our playlist with its jarring poke before the album kicks off with some great tunes. Well worth investigating so let this opener suck you in but don’t forget to buckle up.

Ben found his stereo working overtime as The City Kids released ‘Things That Never Were’ so we’ve added ‘You Get Nothing’ To our playlist.

I know a girl, a girl called Party, Party Girl.  Bono sang that but the Dahlmanns sing ‘Party Girl’ which was released as part of a split with Tommy & The Rockets on Beluga Records a classic castanets clacking slice of power pop with saxophone and New Wave approved piano.

Then Comes Silence who we include ‘Devils’ from their most excellent ‘Machines’ album that was recently reviewed with some dark Goth undertones this has been on heavy rotation around some RPM circles as the corpse paint went on and certain writers were only venturing out after dark with this on their playlists.  Get on it kids.

If a bit of Goth isn’t your thang then why not grow out those sidies and  some facial hair and get on down with Rookie. We’ve got ourselves a ‘One Way Ticket’ to listen to this great playlist and ride out this Global pandemic.

As well as some awesome reviews April sees us bring some news that bands push out so why not include some of the movers and shakers who are busy this month either re arranging tours or putting the final touches on new releases. How about some Rock with American Jetset? ‘Gold & Nines’ is classic cock rock n roll so it makes the cut.  Our old friend Jizzy Pearl also announced that he has signed a new deal with Golden Robot Records so expect some new music and live shows soon. We head back to when he did the album ‘Just A Boy’ and include the cracker ‘Do You Wanna Get High’.

With everybody with a guitar and camera phone shooting home shows we have a few suggestions of who you could check out starting with Rich Ragany & The Digressions who bring ‘Later Than It Is’ to our playlist off the excellent debut album and rumour has it that recording has begun for the follow up which commenced before this lockdown but be sure we’ll bring you the news as and when. 

Another artist smashing the numbers watching his home broadcast is Mike Peters with his ‘Big Night In’ I’ve not tuned in yet but rest assured I will.  Heres one from his recent output ’13 Dead Raindeers’.  Another live streamer is Jesse Malin  who we also interviewed recently and who has a brand new single out sadly it’s not on this service yet so make do with a cut off his last album ‘Chemical Heart’.

There’s fifteen reasons to stay in and have RPM Playlist be your companion and while away the hours playing some quality rock and roll . Go on a journey of discovery and see where it takes you as you avoid the rocks on the choppy water of Rock and Roll 2020.

 

 

Rookie – ‘Rookie’ (Bloodshot Records)

Rookie – ‘Rookie’ (Bloodshot Records)

The wealth of artists on the ever-growing roster of Chicago based label Bloodshot Records is something to behold. Over the past 25 years, they have been championing American roots music, the sort of bands that maintain a DIY punk ethic, whether they be country, soul or garage rock based. The likes of Banditos, The Yawpers, Barrence Whitfield And The Savages, as well as Laura Jane Grace and Sarah Shook, have all graced our pages. And their latest release is the debut album from a 6 piece bunch of shaggy haired 20-somethings that wear matching boiler suits and go by the name of Rookie.

 

Rookie are a 6 piece band who formed in 2017 from the ashes of local acts such as Joe Bordenaro And The Late Bloomers and the fantastically titled Yoko And The Oh Nos. They emerged from a grassroots, Midwestern DIY scene, seemingly out of time with their retro ‘cosmic’ country-styled rock ‘n’ roll music. With three guitar player in their ranks and a drummer (Joe Bordenaro) who shares lead vocals with guitarist Max Loebman, they evoke a classic period of American rock ‘n’ roll, seemingly untainted by modern technology or social media.

Opener ‘Hold On Tight’ evokes 70’s rock radio from the opening chords and high registered hollering. Simple rifforama and blistering lead guitar solos give a high energy introduction to a band that seems far more clued in than their years suggest.

The lazy, hazy groove of ‘I Can’t Have You, But I Want You’ is prime Americana as much as Neil Young or The Allman Brothers in their prime. Sweet, full vocal harmonies flow through the chorus as slide guitar takes precedence. Likewise, closing track ‘E Jam’ is an excuse for the guitarists to shine and break out the extended solos like no one’s watching.

One thing’s for sure, Rookie go a long way to remind music fans about the glory of the guitar solo. And I don’t mean the widdly, over-played 80’s rock solo, I mean back when men were men and rock music did just what it said on the tin!

Rookie are the perfect soundtrack to any highway cruise. Just roll the top down, turn the radio up and light the doobie in your hand. Take ‘Fake Grass’ for example. It has an instantly satisfying melody you will swear you know already. A tinkling of the ivories and some gently weeping guitars give an Exile-era Stones feel. A sense of yearning is accomplished by the time they reach the first chorus and all your woes will be forgotten (at least until it finishes). Classic Americana with a Southern rock twist; they come on like The Band meets Skynyrd on a dusty highway, which surely ain’t a bad place to be. Glorious.

They veer into indie pop territory momentarily too. Recent single ‘Sunglasses’ flows along like a summer breeze, without a care in the world. With clean guitar tones and sweet  acoustics, it has quirky, hippie-fied feel, reminding this reviewer of BMX Bandits or even The Thrills. Instrumental ‘Introduction II’ comes on like a lost 70’s Aerosmith studio jam, with solos aplenty, before the band segues into ‘One Way Ticket’, a tune choc-a-bloc with Hammond and finger-picked guitar.

 

Seemingly untainted by the last 40 years of music, Rookie are a band rooted in the past. There are no Grunge, R&B or rap influences here. They don’t deal in Nu Metal, Ska or even punk rock. Hell no, I wager Rookie don’t even own iPhones! They play no frills rock ‘n’ roll from a different time, hats off to em, I’ll raise a glass to that!

Channeling the pop sensibilities of Cheap Trick, the riffage of Thin Lizzy and laid back, west coast Americana vibes, Rookie have succeeded in delivering a debut album steeped in 70’s rock nostalgia, yet still sounding remarkably fresh.

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Author: Ben Hughes