Category: Tuk Smith & The Renegades

Five Cool Ones: Five Reasons Rock Is Not Dead (2022 Edition)

Way back in 2017, the band Greta Van Fleet hit the scene and was widely lauded as the next big thing in Rock and Roll. Truth be told, these young whippersnappers from Frankenmuth, Michigan were just a bit too Led Zeppelin-adjacent, and in most musical circles their sound was considered to be simply an esoteric listen. Yet, they were considered to be the next great thing in Rock and Roll.

The truth is, there are many high-caliber Rock bands that are putting out great Classic Rock inspired high-octane rock music. Whether it be Glam Rock in the T Rex, early David Bowie mold, AOR (Yacht) Rock treading the waters of the Little River Band, or straight-up Sunset Strip good-time jams, the spiritual progeny of the bands those of a certain age were weaned upon are making the current scene in all of their spectral glory.

Here are five songs from five bands that will have you digging out your old black light posters and turning on your lava lamps.

“Heart Stopping Kinda Show” – DeWolff

This Hammond B-3-centric band from the Dutch province of Limburg combines ’70s Psychedelic flair with Southern Rock tendencies in the Wet Willie and James Gang mold. Look for the new record Love, Death & In Between to be released in February 2023.

“White Buffalo” – Crown Lands

A Juno award winner for the best-emerging band, Ontario-based Crown Lands combines the most digestible flavors of Progressive Rock with Led Zeppelin’s over-the-top bombast. Picture in your mind’s ear Robert Plant fronting Rush on one of their most accessible songs and you pretty much will have nailed the template for their single from 2022’s breakthrough record, Discover Crown Lands.

“I Wanna Know You” – The Sheepdogs

Having hit the scene after being featured on the cover of Rolling Stone as one of the new-face bands in Rock and roll, these road warriors apply their trade somewhere between Foreigner and The Guess Who. Their most recent record, Outta Sight will evoke all of your favorite ’70s Rock and Roll bands without sounding pastiche. With this band, it is all about the songs. And, they are stellar.

“Girls On The East Side Of Town” – Tuk Smith

Standing right up there with The Struts Luke Spiller, and Justin Hawkins from The Darkness, Tuk Smith is on the medal stand of top present-day Rock and Roll front-men. His 2022 record, Tuk Smith & The Restless Hearts is as good a guitar-based rock record as you will have heard all year. For extra credit, go back and check out his work with his old band, The Biters, but stay for this Thin Lizzy adjacent tour deforce.

“Going Back To Hoonsville”- Datura4

Given that the Aussie band, Datura4 takes its name from a stretch of Western Australia highway, it should come as no surprise that the band has released the number one driving song of 2022 in “Going Back To Hoonsville”. This Psychedelic, organ-centric, Blues Boogie makes ZZ Top blush, and could very well be calling Radar Love its bitch.

Five Cool Ones: Five New Albums Released This Week (November 4, 2022)

Halloween is over, the Christmas season is here and the last real week of album releases is still a fortnight away. But, in the meantime there are a lot of new releases to savor.

The Electric Mob are out with a rock-stomper and their single, “By The Name (nanana).

Indie rockers Sloan are back and bubbling up with their new single, “Dream It All Over Again.)

And, newcomer Felix Weaver is scorching the earth with his new record.

But, wait, don’t put down those head phones just yet. Here are five new albums to tickle the earbuds this week.

The Lone Bellow – Love Songs For Losers

Morphing themselves from a Roots-Americana sound to a more Indie Rock AOR vibe that brings to Mind Fleetwood Mac, the resulting output may sound like an entirely new band, but there is absolutely nothing wrong with that.

The opener, “Honey” could have been a “Big Love” B side from Tango In The Night, “Gold” is a smartly written song that blasts across the speakers with the flair of Joshua Tree era U2, and “Wherever Your Heart Is” hits the ears like Dawes guesting on a Paul Simon single.

You might be familiar with the single “Homesick” as the song is used in the renovation series The Williams Family Cabin. And, “Caught Me Thinking” adds some horns and R&B tones spicing up an already eclectically delicious brew.

Moon City Masters – The Famous Moon City Masters

A throw back in all the best of ways, the opener, “Takin’ It Back” from the latest Moon City Masters record will take you all the way back to the James Gang ‘70s, bell-bottoms, cowbell and all. “”Spinning Wheels” is pure Toulouse Street Doobie Brothers, and their cover of the Beatles “I’ve Got A Feeling” has a Bad Company vibe to it and is one of the best songs we have heard all year.

Firmly riding in the neo-classic rock genre, Moon City Masters are painting their own soundscapes making fresh an otherwise tired genre.

Classic Rock Magazine says that their music is full of heart, harmonies, and rays of California sunshine. And, who are we to disagree.

Glen Phillips – There Is So Much Here

As the lead singer and major-domo of Toad The Wet Sprocket, Glen Phillips knows his way around a pop song. On his own since 2001, Phillips may not have surpassed the dizzying heights of the “Walk On The Ocean” days, but ignore at your own peril, his solo work is pretty great.

The opener, “Stone Throat” lays down the palate quite nicely with a breezy tempo on a layer of sparkling guitars. “Other Birds of Prey” has a Tom Petty feel to it, and “Center of the Circle” reminds us all to seek our better angels.

As the title might suggest, there is so much to see here. This one is pure pop for pure people.

Tuk Smith & The Restless Hearts – Ballad of a Misspent Yourh

Back to the ‘70s in the Hot Tub Time Machine, Tuk Smith rises from the ashes of his tumultuous period with the Biters to lay down an energetic, set of pure rock and roll the way it was meant to be played.

Part glam in the Sweet mold, part Thin Lizzy, most notably with the “Boys are Back In Town” spirit that “Girls on the East Side Of Town” Inhabits, every song in this set seems to be a festival-worthy anthem.

“Everybody Loves You When You’re Dead” is an interesting take on “Nobody Loves You (When You’re Down and Out), and “Love Sick City” is a Motley Crue worthy anthem.

First Aid Kit – Palomino

With Palomino, their fifth proper long player, Swedish siblings Klara and Johanna Soderberg, collectively known as First Aid Kit, have certainly hit their stride.

With their signature Fleetwood Mac meets Kate Bush sound still intact with songs as brilliantly constructed as “Wild Horses II” with the stellar line, you prefer The Rolling Stones, and I like Gram, their songwriting prowess has jumped to to the next level.

The song “29 Palms Highway” is perfect late night drive fare, “Ready to Run” could have been yet another hit on Jagged Little Pill, and “Angel” could have been on any Fleetwood Mac album.

Considering the mix of Indie Folk, Fleetwood Mac Pop, and Everly Brothers harmonies along with Simon & Garfunkel worthy production techniques presented here, with Palomino, First Aid Kit may have just painted their masterpiece.