Personal Music Assistant Rock Picks April


 

Latest rock pick list, as always running the gambit of styles. Influences from the 70’s, 80’s 90’s 2000’s and today. So much fun putting these playlists together. Start receiving these directly by joining the website.

Listen to/Watch all the songs featured on this pick list on this YouTube Playlist.

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SHALLOW SIDE    Stand Up

Alabama foursome who have endured a lot of pitfalls and setbacks in their fledgling career. Currently starting to make inroads on the Rock airplay chart with “Can You Hear Me?”

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WE ARE VESSEL    Can You Hear Me?

Another song with the same title from neighboring Georgia’s Christian Rock outfit. This one is from 2014. “Holding On” and “The Broken One” are their most recent singles. 

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CLANG BOOM STEAM    Fort Saint Gabriel

I picked up this guy while Ubering the other day. He was in Boston for his brother’s wedding. Very Nick Cave-esque British indie rock.

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CALL IT OFF    Scream Your Heart Out

Netherlands band born out of the Green Day playbook released their second album “Abandoned” in January.

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CREEPER    Black Rain/Black Mass

AGAINST ME  Transgender Dysphoria Blues

 UK’s horror punk band formed in 2014 and released a series of EP’s between 14-16 and just released their first full length album “Eternity, In Your Arms”. “Black Mass” reminds me of Against Me, whose “I Was A Teenage Anarchist” was a #1 song for me back in 2010. Led by Laura Jane Grace, formerly Tom Gabel, who addresses her transition on last year’s ‘Blues’ from the aptly titled album “Shape Shift With Me”.

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THRICE   Hurricane

California band led by Dustin Kensrue released their first album in 2000. They straddle the fence of Christian music based on the many Biblical references in their lyrics. 7 of their 9 albums have reached the Billboard top 50 and their single “Black Honey” from 2016 was their highest charting rock single, reaching #11 and their first charting single since 2005.

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BLACK MIRRORS    Funky Queen

VUKOVI    La Di Da

Two hard edged yet melodic female fronted bands from Belgium and Scotland respectively. ‘Queen’ sounds like it would fit into the rock radio landscape next to Halestorm and Pretty Reckless but with it’s own voice. I can easily see it as a Rock top 10. Vukovi describe themselves as noisy pop rock so decidedly more fun than Mirrors.

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JON STEVENS    Hold On

This New Zealand native started his career as a teen idol in his homeland and had 3 top 5 singles i 1979-80. After that he went on to lead the Australian band Noiseworks from 1986 to 1992 and had a number of big songs on my perosnal chart including the #1 song “No Lies”. He also starred as Judas in the Australian production of “Jesus Christ Superstar” and took over lead vocals for INXS in the early half of the 2000’s after the untimely death of Michael Hutchence in 1997.

 

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JIMMY BARNES Hard Working Woman

It’s seems a perfect transition to talk about another big voice from down under. The Scottish born singer-songwriter is a superstar in his Aussie homeland and his most recent album, last year’s “Soul Searchin'” hit #1 there, his 9th solo album to do so. Before his solo career started in 1984 he was the lead singer of the pub rock band Cold Chisel for a decade. He had a number of big personal chart hits for me including “No Second Prize”.

 

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AIRBOURNE    Never Been Rocked Like This

If you like your Aussie pub rock more like AC/DC then this band might be for you. They’ve released 4 albums since 2007 including last year’s “Breakin’ Outta Hell”.

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BLACK STONE CHERRY    Cheaper To Drink Alone

BLEEKER    Where’s Your Money?

BASEMENT    Promise Everything

ROYAL BLOOD    Lights Out

COVER YOUR TRACKS    Striking Matches

5 songs that are just starting to receive airplay in the U.S. and Canada. Black Stone Cherry always sound best when they don’t veer to far from their Southern Rock origins. The Kentucky band had  #1 on my chart in 2011 with “In My Blood”.

Canada’s Bleeker is following the success of “Highway”, which recently reached #15 on my chart, with this new single. The video mix upgrades the song for me and it will debut high on my chart this week. They also do a cover of Elvis Costello’s “Radio Radio”.

 

UK’s Basement just signed a deal with punk label Fueled By Ramen for U.S. distribution and the almost 2 year old “Promise Everything” debuts on the the U.S. rock chart this week. They bring a 90’s indie rock vibe and on “Aquasun” they sound like early Jimmy Eat World. They also do a cover, this time the Cardigans “My Favourite Game”, my #36 song of 1998.

Royal Blood, the UK drummer/bassist duo had great success in 2013/2014 with their debut album and 3 massive rock radio singles. They come back strong and loud on their new single.

Cover Your Tracks are an Atlanta based metal band and this is the type of song that could do well on my chart. Hard and soft, melodic and no gutteral screams. Can’t say that for other songs by them. From the album “Fever Dream”.

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AWAKEN    In The Quiet

VERACITY    Nightmare

Two Christian rock bands, Awaken from Tennessee and Veracity from Michigan. The former is straightforward melodic metal with trading male/female vocals. The latter more in a Evanescence/Paramore vein.

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PULLED APART BY HORSES    The Big What If

RIVERBOAT GAMBLERS    Massive Fraud

Loud raucous punk lives in these 2 bands. Horses, who formed in 2007 in Britain, calls their music “backdoor scuzz rage pop”. The Gamblers are out of Texas and have been living loud and large since 2001. They remind me of early 80’s bands I saw on the local Boston scene.

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HIROSHIMA HEARTS    Four Steps Down

Band from London, Ontario that recalls vintage 70’s blues rock on this and other tracks.

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ROADCASE ROYALE    Get Loud

Another 70’s inspired song by new band formed by Nancy Wilson of Heart and ex-Prince band member Liv Warfield. R&B, jazz & country flavored, kind of cool.

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CLUTCH    A Quick Death In Texas

Maryland band whose first release was in 1993 thrive on a classic funk-rock vibe. They had a few minor rock radio singles in the early to mid 2000’s. They have amassed 11 albums in the last 24 years.

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DAMN TRUTH    Love Is Blindness

Montreal band fronted by Lee-La. This is a moody rock torch song, great stuff.

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FROM FIRST TO LAST    Make War

Screamo (a more aggressive form of emo) was born in the early 2000’s with this L.A. band at the forefront of the movement. This melodic new single has less of the screamo aspect.

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ESTHER    Want It All

Finally some Electro-rock from new UK outfit.

 
By: Radio Tim 
Apr 20, 2017