Category: Rock

Five Cool Ones: Five (More) Reasons Rock Is Not Dead

 

As the page turns from one year to another, and in this case one decade to the next, it is never to soon to ponder about the future of Rock and Roll. You know, real guitars, amplifiers, drums, and Rock and Roll. Here are five more Rock bands that should be prominent in the next decade.

The Hu

Who knew that one of the more exciting innovative bands of the new decade would come out of Mongolia. These guys blend the traditional music of their homeland with hooky Western sensibilities. If the members of Pink Floyd were from Mongolia they may have sounded like these guys. Their 2019 record, The Gereg, is a game-changer and the clear winner for the Mongolian album of the year for 2019.

Crown Lands

If Rush and Led Zeppelin had a bastard love-child the proud parents would have likely named the baby Crown Lands. This Rock and Roll duo from Ontario, Canada seems to be riding just beneath the surface of the more famous saviors of Rock and Roll the likes of Rival Sons and Wolfmother. But, on their own, they are definitely a band worth watching as they prepare a new record in 2020. If you like Black Sabbath and The White Stripes, this band should be your jam.

Quaker City Night Hawks

These Texans walk the road that flows from ZZ Top to Lynyrd Skynyrd all the way to contemporaries Blackberry Smoke. No strangers to the pages of Rock is the New Roll, their 2019 record QCNH was one of the best albums of the year way back in 2019, any genre.

Bishop Gunn

Another next-big-thing-in-Southern Rock candidate, Bishop Gunn delivers on all fronts even walking over to the Soul side like they do on their Otis Redding evoking tune “Shine” from their 2018 release Natchez. Look for another record from this diverse band in early 2020.

Amyl and the Snifters

This high octane Aussie Punk band is not for everyone, but damn do they pack a punch. Led by Debbie Harry by way of Courtney Love on her worst days whirling dervish of a front-woman Amy Taylor, this band will set your hair on fire.

 

 

 

Five Cool Ones: Five Artists We Have Our Ears On in 2020

Billy Strings

Starting with Alison Krause and playing it forward on to Molly Tuttle and Amanda Shires, Bluegrass artists have been looked upon with somewhat of a skeptical ear. Much like bagpipes, a little banjo can go a long way. And then there’s Billy Strings. With a moniker like that this dude had better deliver the goods, and based on his latest record released in 2019, Home, he delivers the goods and then some. Showing he is no one-trick banjo-picking pony, the mix of Bluegrass, Country, and Cow-Punk is easily accessible to all ears that love good music.

Odd Morris

There is not a lot to go on here after all this band has only released two songs so far, “Lilac Leaves” and “What Might Be,” but so far, really good. A really absorbing band to watch, their cracking live shows have already caught lightning in a bottle across their home town of Dublin, Ireland. Very much of the Irish Post-Punk tradition there is the unavoidable essence of U2 prevailing here for sure, but these guys look to be about to blaze their own Rock and Roll trail.

Anna St. Louis

Having already been around a bit, her 2016 record First Songs is set for a vinyl reissue in early 2020, Anna St. Louis seems on the verge of bringing her 70’s Laurel Canyon vibe to the unwashed masses. Firmly based in Folk and Country Music with songs that have a certain haunting quality about them, look for her to be popping up on the soundtracks of binge-worthy television shows in the very near future.

Arnetta Johnson

We already have our ears poised to be including her debut album If You hear a Trumpet, It’s Me on our list of best instrumental records of the year for 2020 and it hasn’t even been released yet. Talent exudes from every pore of this 25-year-old trumpeter. A graduate of the Berklee College of Music, she has already released to the world three highly provocative singles in “Meet Me There,” “Who Are You,” and “I’m Just Sayin.”

The Glorious Sons

Any band that releases a song called “The Ongoing Speculation into the Death of Rock and Roll” simply is required to be on any self-respecting list of artists to watch in 2020. They have opened for The Rolling Stones, middled for the Struts, and very much deserve to be the more deserving Greta Van Fleet of 2020.

 

 

Video of the Day: Cold Chisel – Getting The Band Back Together

Cold Chisel is pretty much the Aussie version of Canada’s Tragically Hip. They are arguably the most famous band in their own country and largely unknown everywhere else. All you need to know about these guys is that singer Jimmy Barnes was in consideration for the AC/DC gig when Brian Johnson went down. If there ever was a band worthy of a Youtube deep dive, these guys would be it.

This one is the first single from their 2020 record that is already in the hopper.

 

Live Video of the Day: Dead Writers – She’s All Animals

Based in London, this band was formed by Dynamic front man Paul Shine in 2017. With a sound that hovers somewhere between The Cult and INXS, the band is in slow release mode with this, their third release in the last several months. Look for a proper record in 2020.

Live Video of the Day: The Black Crowes – She Talks To Angels (Live In Atlanta 1991)

The office halls of Rock is the New Roll are giddy with delight over the reunion of the Brothers Robinson and their subsequent tour next year. Now, if only the Davies brothers can get their stuff together for a Kinks get together. Are you listening, Noel and Liam?