Tag: Thundermother

Five Cool Ones: Five New Records Released This Week (February 7, 2025)

Need a palate cleanser from the Grammys? There are some cool new records to envelope your ears this week.

Ricky Warwick is out with his solo single “The Crickets Stayed In Clovis.”

Manic Street Preachers are tickling our ears with “Brushstrokes of Reunion.”

And finally, Ginger Wildheart, overcoming some mental health issues, is front and center with this single in advance of what might be his best record yet, and that’s saying something.

The Jellybricks – Dreaming In Stereo

Released on Wicked Cool Records, so it must be great, the Harrisburg, PA power popsters continue to impress with their own brand of melodic, harmony-driven coolness.

The title track would make Cheap Trick blush, “Let You Down” carries a whiff of The Knack in its essence, and “Shine On” could have been a lost Raspberry’s classic.

The only band with four songs from one album ensconced as one of “The Coolest Songs In The World” on Little Steven’s XM radio show. The Jellybricks should be firmly take residence on your radar.

Joe Ely – Love and Freedom

On the pantheon of the living legends of Texas Troubadours Joe Ely stands tall right up there with Willie Nelson, Ray Wylie Hubbard, and Terry Allen, and with Love and Freedom, his latest release, culled from his immersive archives, Ely cements his legacy.

“Adios Sweet Dreams” is a ripped from the headlines treatise on the immigration issue from the perspective of those fleeing their country to find a better life for themselves, and Ely Rips the heart out of the Townes Van Zandy staple “Waiting Around To Die” creating an instant cover classic.

Here, with nine originals and four covers Ely is in fine voice with a lot of miles still left in the saddle.

Horsebath – Another Farewell

As debut albums go Another Farewell courtesy of Canadian Americana rockers Horsebath should get serious consideration for best debut record once the end-of-the-year lists come around. The band combines the vintage Tex-Mex of the Sir Douglas Quintet, the Canada-centric songwriting of Gordon Lightfoot, and the vintage refrains of Lee Hazelwood all rolled up into one hell of a bar band.

The opener Hard to Love has a Lukas Nelson feel about it and would have fit in quite nicely on the B side of a Doug Sahm single, and if the closer “Turn My Lover Loose” is not autobiographical it will be soon.

Listen to the entirety of this record from an exciting new find.

Thundermother – Dirty & Divine

In yet another glorious redemption story for Thundermother, front-woman Fillipa Nassil has assembled yet another band of Swedish femme-fatales with her latest version of the band that wouldn’t die.

The record had us at Cowbell from the ripping opening track, “So Close,” “Speaking of the Devil” is a lover-scorned rampage that would have fit in quite well blaring from the bars on the Sunset Strip,” and “Bright Eyes” sound likes it could have come from the vaults of the early days of Def Leppard when they rocked heavy, and “American Adrenaline” is Van Halen fronted by the kick-ass version of Suzi Quatro.

Did the rock record of the year just rear its head? You heard it here first.

Gyasi -Here Comes The Good Part

At first, from the opening salvo of “Sweet Thing” from the latest album from Gyasi (pronounced Jah-See), yours won’t be the first set of ears to think that you have fallen into a very deep rabbit hole of demos and B-sides from a deluxe box set of David Bowie’s Jean Jeanie album.

This is one hell of a wham-glam thank you, ma’am rock and roll record. No band this side of Luke Spiller and the Struts or Darkness is putting the glam vibes out into the ether with the ferocity of Gyasi, and its a wonder to behold.

With so many great songs and more hooks and earworms than an episode of Dangerous Catch, this is the foot-tapper, feel-good record that you have been waiting for.

Five Cool Ones: The Top 5 Rock and Roll Songs from 2020

If you have not heard the news rock is not dead, and the demise of good old barn burning Rock and Roll has been extremely exaggerated. Here are our top five singles worthy of checking out to increase your musical street cred.

Thundermother – Driving In Style

These hard-driving all-female Swedish rockers delivered their stellar record, Heat Wave, carrying a ’70s rock groove that can stand fret for fret with any of their male counterparts. The lead-off single “Driving In Style” will take you pedal to the metal down to the parts of your subconscious that you have not visited in a very long time.

The Struts – Cool

It’s no secret that we love Luke Spiller and the Struts. In fact, their new record, Strange Days, would have been our record of the year were it not for the fact that Robbie Williams appears on the single, and we will have none of that. Here, on the appropriately named “Cool” the most dynamic frontman in the game today struts his stuff in a fine fashion.

The Dirty Denims – Last Call For Alchohol

Another fine band with a female rocker leading the way, this time courtesy of Mirjam Sieben, the vibe is pure AC/DC by way of Joan Jett and the Blackhearts. With this ode to blasting past the last call at your local bar, or these days in your living room, and letting things rip you can start your own countdown to ecstasy.

The Wild – High Speed

Another Born to Be Wild jump on your Harley and ride hard groover of a tune. You will grow a mullet just listening to this one.

King King – Dance Together

As groove-laden a rocker as you are likely to come across in recent months, these Scottish rockers will make you miss putting a couple more tokens in your local’s jukebox just to make the night last a little bit longer.