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new music mondays

New Music Mondays: Muse, The Pretty Reckless and More!

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An absolutely massive week of new music for us to check out across the spectrum. Let’s dive in!

Muse: The Wow! Signal

It’s always interesting when we get new music from the Devonshire trio. One of the biggest artists of my childhood, they are still one of my favourite bands now. You never quite know what to expect from them, and even the singles have been pretty varied. However, all have been great, so to say I’m hyped for this release would be an understatement. Plus, it’s their first new music since 2022’s Will of the People, and damn did we love that album!

Well, it certainly doesn’t disappoint! This is a 45 minute journey through the very best of rock, pop and even metal. All four main singles have been fantastic, and fit even better within the context of the album. The rest of the tracks are just as awesome too, the whole release having a grandiose, epic feel to it like only Muse can do. ‘The Sickness in You & I’ is maybe my favourite track on the album, and up there in the upper echalone of their music for me already. Heck, the Gojira-like breakdown at the end is honestly phenomenal. Then you have the Ellie Goulding-featuring ‘Hush’, and the equally Bond-esque opener, and the beautiful, epic closer, and the album as a whole is so incredibly solid. It also feels like a culmination of their career so far, honestly. ‘Cryogen’ is a straight-up Origins of Symmetry track, ‘Be With You’ would comfortably fit on Resistance or 2nd Law, ‘The Dark Forest’ would fit perfectly on Black Holes and ‘Unravelling’ is very much a ‘Drones’ track. Then you have the out-there ‘Nightshift Superstar’ that is straight-up disco-rock in the best way.

I may be becoming across as a fangirl, which I certainly am, but I cannot adequately tell you how great this album is. It’s excellent from front to back, and after 45 full minutes (twice already this weekend, I may add) it has just left me wanting more. It’s my favourite release from them since at least Drones, but it is more varied and well-rounded than that album, so may grow on me even more than that with more listens. Surely it’s not their best release since Black Holes, right..? Almost all of this has ended up on my personal playlist, and it’ll likely end up very high on our top albums of the year list come December. I can’t give it anything less than 10/10. Wow indeed!

The Pretty Reckless: Dead God

Momsen and co. finally brought us a followup to 2021’s massive Death by Rock and Roll this last Friday. I’m going to say right from the jump that that album grew on me in a big way the more I listened for the months after. Hopefully this one does too…

While I wasn’t a fan of the cold open, single ‘For I Am Death’ is a great track. Stuff like ‘Dragonfire’ and the Audioslave-like ‘Dark Days’ are also pretty good. However, the rest kinda blends together; not much stood out and I found myself getting a little bored. The band are damn talented, but they haven’t really evolved much in their 16 years of releasing music, I’m kinda over it now. They’ve never been an ‘album band’ per say, yet the closest they came was their last release. This feels like a step back in that regard. A few good tracks and then stuff that will be breezed over and forgotten about by the next cycle. In the nicest way possible, like I said in my review of them from Download: if it wasn’t for Taylor Momsen being involved, I don’t think anyone would care. If you like this album that’s awesome, and as I said I do hope it grows on me like their last did. But for now after a spin or two, I can’t give it much more than 7/10. Not bad but my least favourite of their albums so far.

Cody Johnson: Banks of the Trinity

One of the biggest international country stars around currently, and well and truly cements himself as just that with this release! It’s the perfect combination of early 2000s radio country with a modern edge to it, and even at over 50 minutes it goes by quickly and easily. It’s packed full of highlights too, from the opener to the Brothers Osborne featuring ‘Fool Proof’, ‘I Have’ to ‘Kissing a Married Woman’ to ‘Thank Somebody Country’. There is certainly a bit of downtime throughout, but he’s so good that even the slower or not quite as good tracks are hugely entertaining. He even manages to get away with some of the typically country-cheese lyrics from being such a great vocalist and songwriter. And it helps that his band work their asses off throughout, too. While I do still prefer Ain’t Nothin’ To It as an album as a whole, this is up there with his last couple as a close second. If you are at all into country, give this album a spin, you certainly won’t regret it! 8/10

Butthole Surfers: After the Astronaut

The alt/noise rock legends are back with their first studio work in two and a half decades. Though the tracks were originally recorded back in ’98, it’s at least given a modern mix and production to set it apart from their previous stuff. Having said that, you can still tell at times that it was written at the turn of the century, certain elements like the scratching giving it away. However, it is interesting that some of the topics and issues they sing about are still relevant today, all these years later. It’s honestly kinda sad. While not quite my sort of thing typically, I have always found the bands work interesting, and this was another release I found myself enjoying. ‘Jet Fighters’, ‘Venus’ and ‘They came In’ are all tracks I found myself enjoying and will certainly listen to again, even if I won’t repeat the album as a whole all too much. If you like the quirky stuff, this is worth a listen, but it certainly won’t be for everyone (most people). Still, there is no denying their impact to music, and this release fits in perfectly with the rest of their discography. 6/10

American Aquarium: New Ways to Lose

Fuck, I forgot how much I love this band! They are like country’s answer to Social Distortion or The Pogues, and I can’t get enough. Southern punk, almost. Honestly, the whole thing from front to back is incredible, too. Much like Muse, most of this ended up on my personal playlist, and I’ve spun it multiple times over the weekend already! It’s impossible to not have a good time listening to this, even when your getting your heart broken by the bittersweet ‘Favourite Hello’, and 34 minutes goes by in a flash! And, as such, it is impossible to pick just one or two highlight songs, all of them are fantastic in their own right. It may be my favourite album from the band, which is honestly saying a lot! It’s chilled out, rocky and emotional all in the perfect measures. If you are a fan of any of the bands or genres I’ve mentioned already, do yourselves a favour and check this out ASAP, you’re sure to love it as much as I do! I cant give it any less than 9/10, and it may grow on me even more through the rest of the year!

Hawxx: The World Splits Open

We’ve already checked out this awesome album! Read the full review here.

Boneripper: Radiant In Ruin

The sophomore album from the Netherlands metallic hardcore outfit goes hard right from the offset! ‘Oracle of Lies’ sets the tone of the release immediately, as well as being a big early highlight. Then you have tracks like ‘Damnation’, ‘Borrowed Breath’ and ‘Refuse Persist’ that are also bangers in their own right. However, the whole album is fantastic, there not being a bad song throughout. And for a fairly long album (12 tracks) it goes by in a flash, not at all feeling its length. I like the couple of interlude tracks thrown in too, making the album feel more alive, and the closer in particular was excellent.

The band are all hugely talented and so damn good at what they do. Wearing their inspirations on their sleeve, they straddle the line between beatdown, metallic and metalcore amazingly, the closest comparisons for me being the likes of Hatebreed and even Pro-Pain. I was new to the band upon checking this out, and they have a big new fan in me! I am already desperate to see some of this live (a trip to Europe sounds perfect right now) and I can’t give it any less than 8.5/10. Amazing stuff!

Willow Avalon: Pink Pocket Pistol

This third album in three years from the neo-traditional country artist, and it has a tough job following up Southern Belle! Spoiler alert: it sadly doesn’t quite reach those heights. Don’t get me wrong, tracks like ‘Easy on the Eyes’, ‘Hell in a Handbag’ and all three with guest features are great. She is still a fantastic lyricist throughout, too. However, I found a lot of this was just a touch slow, and as such it all blended together a little for me. None of it is bad by any stretch, and if you like an old-school, chilled out sound you’ll probably love this. However, her last release felt like a bit of a breath of fresh air, an exciting blend of old and new, and this isn’t the follow-up I’d hoped for. As I said, there is definitely some fun, great stuff on here, but as an album as a whole I won’t be revisiting it all that often. She still has a hugely bright future ahead of her, but it doesn’t quite live up to my hype for it, given her previous output. Still, the tracks I named are awesome, and fitting additions to her discography! 7/10

CJ Wildheart: Devil

The punk legend followed up his 2025 release in quick fashion with another banger of a release! If you know CJ, you know exactly what to expect from the album, and I mean that in the best way! Between ‘The Art of Being Free’, ‘Diva’, ‘One of the Boys’ and ‘Twenty Two’, there are some tracks up here that I’d honestly put up alongside his best. It’s punk through and through, whether it’s his older brand of Wildheartsy stuff, or a more Celtic tinge to it. As much as I loved SLOTS, I may like this even more! If you are at all into punk, this is an absolute must-listen. It’s just a lot of fun, showcasing that CJ still very much has it decades into his music career! I’ll be spinning this a fair bit moving forward, and can’t give it any less than 8.5/10!

Georgia Webster: EVERYTHING MUST GO!

Album two from the country pop rising star is a chilled-out affair, and a very easy listen. At only eight tracks across 27 minutes, it goes by in a flash, and has some great stuff up there with some of her best. ‘2 YEARS’, ‘SYDNEY’ and the closer are all personal highlights, but there certainly isn’t a bad track on the release! She fits perfectly alongside other modern popish artists like Olivia Rodrigo, and is most certainly going to keep getting bigger and bigger the next few years. It’s certainly not going to be a release for everyone reading this article, but I had a good time listening to it, and will certainly be spinning it a fair bit over the coming summer. For now, it gets a solid 7.5/10 from us!

Druidess: Trip Meadow

The Newcastle-based doom/stoner metallers dropped their highly anticipated debut album this last Friday. Spoiler alert, it’s a bit good! It’s seven incredible tracks packed full of insane riffing, solid drumming and some catchy-as-fuck vocal melodies. It immediately reminds me of The Sword’s heyday (goddamn I miss when they were pumping out great music), but also has elements of everything from Clutch to Red Fang to Orange Goblin. And as I said before, every song is as good as the last, it being nearly impossible to pick highlights. Having said that, the proggy, epic title track is pretty rather excellent! Everyone involved in this is so talented; from the playing to the writing to the production, it’s all excellent. As far as debut albums go, this is fantastic, and the band are going to go incredibly far if they keep up this quality. It won’t be for everyone, but if you like your metal sludgy, epic and massive, give this a spin, you won’t regret it! 8/10

Amberian Dawn: Temptation’s Gates

The first album from the symphonic metallers with new singer Nicole Willerton at the helm, this feels like another big step forward in the bands already sprawling discography. The first studio work from the outfit since 2020 (aside their 2022 ABBA tribute album), it shows how far the band have come in that time, refining their sound into the genre’s purest form. Nicole is the perfect fit, her vocals being a huge high point of the release, while the other four compliment her perfectly and work their asses off throughout. From ‘The Vision of Dreaming’ to ‘Unchained’ (those screams were unexpected and awesome!), ‘Undying Colours’ to the epic closer, it’s all so good. My only complaint would be that it’s a little samey throughout, but when it’s this good it’s hard to be that mad about that! If you are into the genre, do yourselves a favour and give this a listen. Another very easy 8/10

James O’Hurley: A Beggars Belief

This four track EP follows his album from last year rather perfectly. Combining two live-recorded tracks from said album with two brand new ones, it’s a short yet great blues release! It’s rather stripped-back and chilled out, but offers a different perspective on the rising star. The new tracks fit perfectly alongside the other two, and it creates an awesome 15 minutes of music. ‘Roulette’ is a personal favourite, it almost having bond-song levels of grandiose to it. However, all of it is great. If you are a fan of James or blues rock as a whole, this is well worth giving a spin! I’ll certainly be listening again, that’s for sure! 7.5/10

Taxi Girls: Static

Some more punk for us this week, this time the debut album from the Montrèal four-piece. It’s a lot of fun, and gives off big Distillers vibes in the best ways. From the opener to ‘Auto Hysterics’, ‘Kill Your Darlings’ to ‘Don’t Leave me Hanging’, there is so much to love throughout. It’s somehow the perfect blend of old-school and modern punk, but also has a unique vibe to it as well that is very Taxi Girls. I’d never heard of them before I got emailed about this release, but they have a big new fan in me, and are set to be a big name in the scene sooner rather than later! They encapsulate that DIY punk energy that the likes of Amyl and Wet Leg have brought to the dance before them, with the added bonus of actually making good-sounding music on top of that. If you are all interested, give this a listen, you’ll love it as much as I do! A very easy 8.5/10

Stonecast: Expand Crimson Chaos

Firstly, what a badass artwork! And, while we’re at it, what a badass album! The bands first since 2019’s I Earther, while it still maintains it baseline of traditional heavy metal, they experiment a lot through their 46 minutes here. The opener is straight up Doom metal, and it’s awesome! ‘A Ce Lieu’ has more of a thrashy, groove metal edge to it. ‘King of Hell’ goes in more of a metalcore/melodeath direction. The title track has an air of power metal to it, even. Between these, ‘Against the Tide’ and the closer, there is so much awesomeness to love throughout. There isn’t a bad track across the entire release, and it goes by surprisingly quickly. The band are all insanely talented musicians and songwriters, and have crafted their most cohesive and best album to date with this! I’d recommend it to absolutely anyone into metal, and I can’t give it any less than 9/10!

Fox N’Vead: Playing the Game

Album three from the North Carolinian four-piece perfectly blends alt rock with their country/southern background, and continues to grow their discography amazingly. The title track was slightly rocky for me, though they are clearly all accomplished blues players. However, ‘Waiting’ is a phenomenal southern-tinged hard rock track that called back to the early 2000s rock scene when it was so prevalent perfectly. Tracks like ‘Waste Away’, ‘High Agenda’ and ‘Grounded’ are also fantastic. There are some tracks that I don’t enjoy as much as others; the slower, softer ones don’t quite hook me in as much. However, overall it’s a damn good album! It’s up there alongside their previous two, the group building up an incredibly strong back catalogue. They feel wholly unique, finding a fun niche for their sound that works for me more often than not, and I’ll certainly be listening again! If you like the rockier side of country, or the alt side of Southern rock, give this a try! 8/10

new music mondays

New Music Mondays: The War and Treaty, Hard-Fi and More!

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A slightly quieter week this time, but we still have some great releases to be checking out! Let’s dive in!

The War and Treaty: The Story of Michael and Tanya

The second album in two years from the Southern soul duo and honestly, it may take a little growing for me. Tracks like ‘You Can’t Hurt Me Anymore’, ‘Holy Ghost Fire’ and the closer are high points, but the album as a whole is a touch slow. Don’t get me wrong, they’re not known for high pace generally, but they at least have some smattered throughout their projects. This is just all ballads aside for closer ‘High Heels’. Said track is up there among their best, honestly, but it certainly took some getting to. While I did very much like Plus One, it was a slight step below Lover’s Game for me in hindsight, and this release once again takes another sad step down. I did enjoy the concept of the release, the pair highlighting the ups and downs of their marriage from each perspective. However, it felt like they didn’t lean into each other as much, more having each track be a solo one with the other as backup. The emotion is still there, but it can make for a damn depressing listen at times. When they do sing together though, it still very much works to perfection. They still have two of the best voices in music currently. They just felt less of a team sharing each song than usual.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not exactly their target audience, and I’m sure plenty of their fans will love this. It’s still not a bad album by any stretch. However, it’s nothing we haven’t had from them before, except it leans hard on the stuff that I like a little more in moderation from the duo. As I said, hopefully it grows on me, as I’ll certainly be giving it more listens. For now, I can’t give it much more than 7.5/10.

Hard-Fi: Sweating Someone Else’s Fever

Having known the name for a while, I don’t think I’ve ever actually heard a track by the UK indie rockers outside of their big hit. However, the first album in a decade and a half and since their 2022 reunion, there was no way I wasn’t checking it out to see what all he hype was for.

It’s at very least interesting. The opener is terrible, but I did enjoy the Latin-infused single ‘Digo Nada’. Tracks like ‘Looking for Fun’ and ‘Now and Then’ are also pretty good! However, overall it isn’t really the sort of thing I’m into much. None of it is bad at all, and does have a bit of a nostalgic twinge for me from when this sort of style was big in the bands heyday. If you are big into this sort of music, you’ll almost certainly have a lot of love for this. The band are clearly talented! Krysten Cummings also does great on her two guest tracks, adding a lot to the sound. However, the whole album is a bit boring and samey, dragging across its 40 minutes. It’s nothing that hasn’t been done before, and feels kinda dated; a little expected given their time off. As I say, if you’re a fan of the band or 2000s/2010s indie music, this is worth a listen. Outside of that though, I don’t think it’s win many new fans over. If it was on I wouldn’t turn it off, but I wouldn’t go out of my way to listen to this again. 5/10

When Rivers Meet: Rhythm Rust & Static

Coming just one year after the awesome Addicted to You, the husband-and-wife blues duo are back with album number five. I feels like the pair have gone a bit heavier with this release too, which was awesome to hear! I was hooked right from the opener, and not let go for the full 41 minutes. ‘Caught in the Middle’, ‘I’m Ready for You’ and ‘My Time Is Done’ are big personal highlights, but honestly the whole album is fantastic and has a great flow to it. Heck, as a soon-to-be-parent, hearing the pair of new parents write and perform a track like ‘Bring Life’ was truly beautiful. They are such a phenomenal combined talent, and I honestly feel like they have the ingredient that I was missing from War and Treaty above; they play off each other and compliment each other perfectly throughout. The pair and their backing band are all insanely talented, and I think they’ve maybe crafted their most cohesively high-quality release yet! Another incredibly solid 9/10 from us!

Endseeker: Coffin Born

The farewell EP from the German death metallers is a fittingly brutal. It’s 22 minutes of fast paced, heavy music, and each track is as good as the last! ‘Enemies of Peace’ is an amazing opener packed with some truly great lyrics. ‘Coffin Born’ goes hard too, and the Lord of the Lost-featuring ‘True Survivor’ not only closes things out perfectly, but adds some great dynamics to the release with some clean vocals. As I said though, the whole thing is great from beginning to end. It’s a shame to see the band go, but what a note to end it on! If to are into the heavier end of stuff at all, this is definitely worth a spin! I can’t give it any less than 8/10

Warning: Rituals of Shame

The first album from the British doom band in a whopping two decades finally dropped this last Friday, to much hype from its cult following. It’s 45-minutes of darkness and despair, the band picking things up like they never left it off in the first place. It’s only five tracks long, but each is proggy, doom-filled epicness, and it all flows surprisingly well together. Don’t get me wrong, on the whole it’s maybe a little slow for me personally, but I still very much appreciate the talent and writing that went into creating this! Having said that, I really enjoyed ‘Stations’, and closer ‘Teacher’ is awesome too. It all just feels a bit similar to me, and the slower doom stuff doesn’t hit as hard when that’s all it is, if that makes sense? For fans of the band, I imagine this is like Christmas, and it is certainly a worthy successor to Watching from a Distance. And while it is damn good doom metal, I can’t give it any more than 7/10

Pond: Terrestrials

Following up 2024’s Stung!, the Australian psychedelic five-piece show off their incredible talent once again here! While not typically my sort of thing on paper, I had a blast listening to it in full! Nestled comfortably between Yes, Deep Purple and ELO, their sound is awesome, and each member plays their asses off throughout, all getting their own time to shine. Personal highlights include ‘Casuarina’, ‘Roebuck Plains’ and ‘Personal Hell’, but the whole album is pretty damn good! If you like the softer, proggier side of rock music, this is absolutely an album for you. It’s not something I’ll be spinning too often, but will most likely be checking it out again in the relatively near future. It’s a solid 7.5/10, and is another that may grow on me even more through the rest of the year!

Inherits the Void: The Silent Abscission

This atmospheric black metal album is honestly awesome! Y’all know by now that I have an up-and-down relationship with black metal, but this was interesting and entertaining as hell throughout. Having elements of almost tech death added to the rest was awesome, the sheer playing and writing ability on display being off the charts. From the opener to ‘In the Shadow of the Falling Star’ to ‘A World Unmade’, the album is packed full of great songs! It’s another release that flows fantastically too, not at all feeling nearly 50 minutes in length. It’s not a release for everyone, but I really enjoyed it, and will certainly be spinning it again plenty moving forward. Even if you aren’t typically into black metal, give this a try, it will almost certainly win you over like it did me! 8.5/10, great stuff!

Kashus Culpepper: Act I: Summer Nights

The new EP from the rising country star is a short but very sweet affair. Three new songs, backed up by a fantastic cover and an interlude, and it makes for incredibly easy listening! It’s 13 minutes of chilled-out, beautiful pop-country/Southern soul, and I can’t get enough! ‘Let me Show You Love’ is fantastic, as is ‘Til the Sun Goes Down’. However, there is no beating that fantastic Glen Campbell cover, it opens things up perfectly. I remember checking out his debut album back at the start of the year and not minding it, but honestly this was a step up in quality for me! I feel like the brief nature of this release (Act I is long) helped it a lot, it being all-killer, no-filler. I’ll definitely be listening to this again, probably a fair bit over the summer, and would urge anyone reading this to check this out! Another incredibly easy 8.5/10 from us!

Swim Deep: Hum

Album five from the indie collective is another chilled-out release for us this week. I can’t say I’d really heard of them before checking out this album, and while it’s not usually my sort of style, I definitely had fun with it! It’s simple and relaxed and gives off a real early-mid 2000s vibe that I can’t help but be a little nostalgic for. And, from ‘You, Me and Mary’ to ‘Such a Fool’ to ‘In Dreams Alive’, there is a lot to love. It’s maybe a little too similar for me in terms of pace and sound for an album as a whole, but I’ll definitely be coming back to the aforementioned tracks pretty regularly! For any indie fans reading this, this is certainly an album for you. I’m at least curious to go back and check out the rest of their back catalogue to see if it’s all this good. And, while I do so, this gets a solid 7/10

Shadowborne: Heaven’s Falling

Time for a debut album, us having surprisingly few this week. The power metal newcomers kill it with this release! From the excellent opener ‘High and Low’ to ‘Hold the Door’ to ‘The Wall’, there is so much to love throughout, though the whole album is pretty excellent! If you are even a passing fan of power or heavy metal, give this a spin ASAP! From the soaring vocals to the solid drumming to the excellent riffs and synth, it’s all so damn good. And the choruses, they are easily a high point of the release as a whole, they are all so infectiously catchy. The band are going to go very far in the scene if this release is anything to go by. I already can’t wait to hear where they go from here, but for now I’ll certainly be listening to this a lot moving forward. I can’t give it any less than 8/10!

Mork: Monolitt

The ninth album from Thomas Eriksen’s black metal project is another brutal addition to their growing discography. It’s a perfect encapsulation of the 2nd wave of the genre, though with some real top-notch production that honestly helps it a lot. There are some awesome riffs throughout, and some truly heavy drums and screams. It’s a little more straight forward than Inherits the Void above, so did struggle to hold my attention a little more. However, there was enough more death metal-like parts that I still found myself enjoying it! Single ‘Ødelagt’ is a big high point of the release, as is ‘Martyr’. And the rest all sounds fairly similar, so if you generally like your metal black, you’re bound to love this! Another solid 7/10

Tucker Zimmerman: Dream Me a Dream

The criminally underrated folk singer-songwriter put out his fifth album this decade so far this last Friday. It’s a stripped-back, relaxed affair and a 37 minutes I found myself enjoying far more than I expected to! The lyrics were amazing, and sometimes the swell of the strings and other instrumentation around Tucker bring out so much emotion. ‘Don’t Feel Like Doing Nothing Today’ is probably my favourite, but I also really like the Lou Reed-like ‘Rooftops of San Francisco’. He’s an old-school storyteller through and through, and it’s cool to still be getting this sort of music being released. It’s probably not something I’d revisit a huge amount, but I can appreciate the hell out of the musicianship that went into it, and certainly liked it. It was cool to just throw on and get lost in the lyricism and feel of it all. And, for that, it gets an easy 7.5/10

Reviews

Hotter Than the Sun: The Debut Album from AK and the Red Kites!

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The debut album of the Dust Coda front man’s other project drops tomorrow! Their 2024 EP was amazing, and they have only gone from strength to strength since then, so to finally have this coming out is pretty damn exciting! Their combination of blues and hard rock is a lot of fun, so let’s dive right in!

The album opens right into some great instrumentation, an almost punk flavour to the riffing and drumming at first. AK’s powerful vocals soon come over the top, a great, catchy melody over some chuggy riffs. There’s some awesome harmonies and tracking around the vocals too, adding so much depth to the delivery. It all builds to a massive chorus, one designed to be played to huge arena crowds! There’s a touch of the blues the band are known for coming out of the choruses with that riff too, fitting perfectly alongside the punkier rest. We also get an awesome little guitar solo tucked away in the middle, packed full of feeling an emotion, sounding fantastic! This is an amazing song, and a perfect selection for the opener and a single, kicking things off with a bang!

The energy stays high heading into ‘Born to Lose’. Once again I get as much Wildhearts vibes as I do blues, definitely a punky edge to it all. Andrew’s vocals fit perfectly over the simple riffing and driving drums, once again building excellently to a massive chorus. Said chorus fits perfectly into the back of the verse though, the instrumentation staying similar, just getting bigger, making everything sound massive as a result! The lyrics here are great too, packed with attitude and being some of my favourite on the whole album. The solo here is more technical this time, fitting the lighter natural of the song and giving the perfect reprieve from the standard structure of the rest. My only complaint is that it was so short, but I get not everyone wants sprawling solos! Another excellent song, and an easy highlight of the album!

Things turn sharply into the blues direction I expected from the release with ‘Stronger’. It still fits perfectly in with the heaviness and tone of the release so far, but definitely feels like it focuses much more on the blues guitaring than the others. The riffing is awesome, and I LOVED the ‘ooo’s in the build-up intro, too. A stripped-back verse leads to a bigger, catchy chorus. However, that driving riff from the guitar and bass are definitely the main strength of the track. And, even in a track barely 2:30, we still get some awesome lead work out of that second chorus. It’s short and sweet, in-and-out and very to the point, and I think it serves the track well, as any more of the same sort of idea, outside of jamming it out for minutes of proggy soloing, may have gotten a bit much!

Single ‘Karmic Rituals’ heavy’s things back up again, while still very much maintaining that blues riffing awesomeness from the previous song. Andrew’s vocals once again sound awesome over the top, weaving a fantastic melody over the driving drums and bass, the guitar cutting in intermittently Honestly, the closest thing I can compare it to is Mammoth, which is certainly a compliment! The verse is catchy enough, but then effortlessly leads into an expectedly great chorus, catchy and certainly one to sing along to. It’s another short, simple-structured track, but I liked the riffing for the bridge too, and the final chorus hits hard! It’s one that easily makes our playlist!

A dirty blues riff forms the basis of ‘Pearls Before Swine’, the guitar kicking it off but the bass and it’s incredible tone carry it on perfectly through the verse. It has a bit of swagger and attitude to it, making for an incredibly fun listen. Honestly, it’s got some funk rock to it, like a Living Colour or Staggered Crossing, and I’m a little obsessed! The whole thing is massively catchy, but that chorus is on another level! It’s my favourite track on the album, and a song that I’ll be spinning a lot in the coming weeks and months to come. Wow!

Tracks like ‘West Coast Romance’, the title track and ‘Trouble Again’ are more steady-paced, blues-dripping stompers, all as good as the last! The latter is my favourite of the group, the riff being great and AK putting in one of his best vocal performances to boot. However, all are great and fit the tone and pace of the album fantastically, none of them even feeling like album tracks. It was easier to group them together to save me repeating myself with my fan-girling over and over!

‘Sierra Starlight’ is the slower track on the album, but is still infused with blues, soul and roots. It feels ripped straight out of Sinners, almost having a country edge to it. Yet, somehow, it also fits perfectly in with the rest of the album. Arguably it could have done with being a little earlier, as it breaks things up tonally incredibly, but also felt just as natural here. It’s another amazing song and HUGE album highlight, showing off the band’s range impeccably.

The last two tracks left from the album, singles ‘We Belong’ and ‘Cosmic Train’. Both are on the heavier end, more Black Stone Cherry-like than a classic blues thing. They’re amazing songs both in their own right, and were two more excellent choices for singles! The latter in particular is another huge high point on the release, and closes things off perfectly. All three members get their time to shine throughout, and it makes for a damn fun listen! Two more great songs on an album packed full of them!

Overall: This is an awesome release! Every track is as good as the last, and it has an amazing flow to it, going by in a flash. All three guys killed it throughout too, showing off that they are some of the best in the scene right now. They really are going from strength to strength as a band, and this is surely set to push them up to the next level! I’ll certainly be spinning this plenty in the weeks and months to come!

The Score: 9/10

Interviews & Features

AK and the Red Kites: ‘It’s quite an organic process really, no one fix way!’

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We had the pleasure of chatting to the man himself from the blues/hard rockers ahead of their debut albums release next month. Check out the interview below!

The album’s out in just a few weeks time, right?

Yeah, 8th May, like the classic Mötorhead song! It’s easy to remember!

Is there an overarching theme to it, or is it more on an individual song basis?

It’s more of an individual song basis. It’s very much song driven so each stands out, which was very much the idea. Rather than having an overarching concept it’s more songs that stand up in their own right, I think! It’s very much song-driven, though the do go together nicely!

And there‘s four singles out of it now, right?

Yeah, ‘We Belong’, ‘Cosmic Train’, ‘Karmic Rituals’ and ‘Broken Love’ have all been released. We just released two singles on the same day, which might be a bit nuts, but we decided we would!

What went into the decision to drop two at the same time?

I don’t know really. One of the reasons is we’d already decided to put out ‘Broken Love’, and then there’s also a sync deal with Sony extreme that’s going on in the background. We just decided to drop one of those songs from that sync deal as well! So it was just to get it out there so people could sync it and stuff, really. ‘Why don’t we do both?’, and we did!

I feel like it’s harder than ever these days to work out when to drop new music, especially during an album cycle!

Yeah, for sure! We already had the plan anyway, ‘Karmic Rituals’ was almost sort of a bonus single! We’re generally putting stuff out every six weeks until the album, there’s another single two days before, on a Wednesday which is weird! It’s the title track of the album.

What went into the decision to put out an album at this point?

I think it was about finding the right time. The EP [Proverbial Storm, 2024] and the album were recorded as part of the same sessions with Mike Compus in Barnsley. It was a studio he was sharing with BMTH, they had a room in the same complex. I was going up there pretty regularly, we did it over a series of months. Then it was just deciding what to do with it. We released the EP and sorted the sync stuff out in the background and we’ve eventually just gone ‘here it is, this is the right time’.

What’s the writing process like for you guys?

It’s evolved. I do generally write a lot at home, and get a lot of the ideas. Then some of the stuff is worked out in the room. Someone will just play something, warming up or sound checking, and everyone joins in and you go ‘oh, that’s pretty cool, why don’t we do something with that!’. So it’s quite an organic process really, no one fix way. Sometimes it’s difficult, you’re not feeling very inspired. Other times it seems to be flying out everywhere.

I feel like listening to a lot of different music helps. Stuff out of your normal kinda box. For me it’s blues and classic rock and modern takes on that. But, I find if I just listen to that I get a bit stale. So I’ll go away and listen to Taylor Swift or folk music or anything, just stuff you wouldn’t tend to really listen to and it wakes something up, it comes back!

I think over the last few years it’s also become so much easier to incorporate elements of different genres in your music.

Oh yeah, there’s a lot of fusion going on. I think that’s partly the digital thing, with everything being so readily available. It’s not like the old days where you had what you had and listened to the one genre, you can find all this different music out there and it influences everyone across the board.

Is there more writing still going on in the background?

There’s new stuff, definitely. We’ve actually been in the studio recently and done a couple of tracks that are sounding cool. That will continue and could very well be the sessions from the next album. We’re always writing, though!

Are you doing much with Dust Coda at the minute?

Yes and no. We have an acoustic gig in a couple of weeks. It sounds alright! We will be looking to do another album but due to personal circumstances in the background we haven’t managed to do much. We will get back together soon though and doing new stuff!

Are there any different approaches you take to writing for Coda compared to AK?

No, not really! The writing process is largely the same, and then it’s the same sort of thing really, getting in the room with ideas. Then I do my best to do some Dust Coda-y sort of stuff!

Do you have a favourite track from Hotter than the Sun?

I like them all, to be honest. I treat them all as my children. But I think maybe the title track, it’s just got a nice bass groove and has a laid back feel to it. I like ‘Broken Love’ as well, it’s really high energy and tempo, it’s fun to play live! But yeah, there’s none on there that I’m like ‘oh, I don’t like that one!’. It’s not always the case!

You’ve got a bit of a busy year planned, right?

Yeah! Coming up to the release we’re going out around the UK on a kinda tour. Doing a couple of festivals and up north and London. We have a hometown show, the album release, on May 9th. We’re out and about! And we’re looking at doing some more a little bit later in the year, and a few Dust Coda bits as well! Spinning the plates really and see what happens!

Reviews

Patience to Play: Two Ways Home Knock it Out of the Park with Album Two!

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The incredible Anglo-Austrian duo are set to release their highly anticipated sophomore album tomorrow! Featuring a lot of the singles they’ve put out over the last few years, it’s a real celebration of where they pair are in 2026, as well as a hint of where they are headed with some new songs smattered in for good measure. We’re big fans of the pair here at Overtone, even chatting to them last year and getting some hints of this. So, to say we’re hyped that it’s finally here is an understatement. Let’s dive right in!

The title track opens things up perfectly; a hauntingly beautiful acoustic guitar riff that soon has Lewis’ vocals fitting incredibly over the top. Isabella soon harmonises perfectly too, it all building up fantastically to an almost Southern rock sound. The drums and other instrumentation coming in for the chorus was a fantastic choice, adding some great dynamics to it, and makes it feel effortlessly massive. The particular blend of folk, country and rock is awesome and is pretty uniquely their own. Heck, the bridge is phenomenal, giving off elements of the Who in the drums, Slash in the subtle lead guitars, and yet the vocals still firmly ground in Two Ways Home. It’s an absolutely amazing choice for an album opener, and is a definite early highlight!

‘Waiting on Luck’ is a song I’ve loved since first got into them a couple of years ago. It was a fantastic single back in 2022, once again showcasing the bands mesmerising harmonies, and a bit softer a side to them. Isabella kinda takes the lead vocally this time, but the pair do a fantastic job of always showcasing each other’s talents and working together flawlessly. That chorus is also incredible, and has been stuck in my head periodically since I very first heard it! Even though it’s been out a while, it’s a track that I can’t seem to ever get enough of; simple and soft-rock-infused-country, but is so damn good. So far, two for two on excellent songs! And, acoustically (track 13), it was certainly a standout to me when we saw them at The Long Road last year!

The first new track on the album, ‘Room for Love’, is just as good as the previous two tracks! It definitely keeps the soft rock-like vibe to it, the blues edge to it almost giving it a Lenny Kravitz feel to it. However, by the time the chorus hits, the massive harmonies and big-band-instrumentation, it definitely brings in their country-adjacent sound too. It’s all so good, the instrumentation being as much of a high point as the vocals in this track. That riff through the bridge is awesome, and I love the touch of the chatter and keys behind it, making it a real feel-good moment. I’m coming across as a fangirl already, but this is another great track! It’s all fantastic so far!

We get both the full band and the acoustic version of ‘Polaroid Kids’ on this release. While both are similar, they still channel different energies, and it’s well worth checking both out. Heck, after multiple spins of both, I’m still not sure which I like more! The stripped-back nature of the acoustic one focuses more on the lyrics and the harmonies, but the emotion in the full band is palpable. I do have to say I think the spoken word bit fits better with the electric, in this writers humble opinion. However, as I said, both are excellent. They’re anthemic, ballad-like songs and the electric one breaks up the flow of the album perfectly to that point. And, lyrically, it’s maybe my favourite track on the album.

The most radio-country track here, ‘Feet on the Asphalt’, is a great, upbeat, track not too far removed from something like Russel Dickerson or Thomas Rhett. It’s catchy as anything and infused with enough rock to keep it high-energy. And, once again, the vocal harmonies are like only TWH can do, grounding the track to them despite it being a different feel again. I love the playfulness between the pairs vocal delivery in this track keeping it light and catchy throughout. You guessed it, it’s another amazing track, and one that easily makes our playlist!

‘Medicine Man’ is a more blues/rock based country bangers. It feels a touch darker than most on the release, and almost gives off ‘Wanted Dead or Alive’ vibes. And, it has one of the best choruses on the album! We also get a previously-unheard acoustic version of it to close out the album, pushing it much father into the country category in the best way. It takes on more of a Hank Jr vibe to it, the two tracks being so different in sound but both being excellent in their own right.

The following few tracks, ‘She Keeps Time Like a Casino’, ‘Hot Rain’ and ‘Signals in the Smoke’ are all slower songs, much more country-ballad territory. All are excellent songs in their own right, and even though they are one-after-another, it doesn’t feel like the momentum of the release drops at all, most likely due to the high quality. I like ‘Hot Rain’ building to more of a rock ballad by the end, the distorted guitars and soloing adding so much depth to the sound. It’s probably my favourite track of the few, but none of them are bad by any stretch!

‘Hear a Heartbreak’ has more of a soul feel to it, the steady plod and vocal delivery being more akin to Rag’n’Bone or Hozier. It has a fun bounce, energy and swagger to it, and once again when both of their voices entwine together, it’s phenomenal! And it still has enough of their unique brand of rock edge to it to keep it succinct to the album too, a true testament to their writing talents. It’s yet another major album highlight on a release packed full of them!

Meanwhile, ‘Colder Water’ is a straight up Western track, and I am all for it! It’s like I was trapped somewhere between an Eastwood and a Tarantino movie, it was awesome! It’s catchy, and packed full of some fun melodies from both the vocals and the instrumentation. Then you have the last non-acoustic track on the album, ‘Slower Kind of Love’. Honestly, it kinda bridges the gap rather perfectly, having plenty of acoustic elements to it while also having some great drumming for the choruses. It all builds perfectly to the massive bridge and crescendo too, the track being put together excellently. It’s another track I’m a little obsessed with, honestly, and yet another high point of the album!

Overall: This is an amazing album! It explores just about every avenue of country, folk and blues music across its runtime, being long but not feeling like it at all. It’s such an easy listen that goes by in a flash, somehow still leaving me wanting more! Every song is as good as the last, and it’s the perfect showcase of their recent output. If you are in any way into any of the genres named, do yourself a favour and check this out, you won’t be disappointed!

The Score: 9/10

Reviews

Doomsday Outlaw, Eddie & The Wolves and Luna Marble Rock Hallamshire Hotel!

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The incredible UK blues rock/NWOCR stalwarts played a hometown gig over the weekend, packing nearly 100 people into the amazing Hallamshire Hotel! The first stop of their April tour was set to be a doozy, being backed by other local bluesy heavyweights in Eddie & The Wolves and Luna Marble. We’ve been excited to head down to this for weeks now, and there was no way we weren’t going to be raving about it afterwards! Check out all of our thoughts below.

Opening things up with a special acoustic-duo performance where the bluesy Luna Marble. I recently got into them off their amazing debut album, and it was cool to hear a lot of that in a different style here. Plus, for just the two of them, their acoustic guitars and vocals, goddamn did they produce a huge sound! Maria Rico has one of the best live vocals around at the minute, and not only that but has the charisma and stage presence to hold the crowd in the palm of her hand throughout a more subdued set. Meanwhile Dragos backs her up perfectly, providing some amazing playing and backing vocals throughout. Hearing the tracks unplugged takes you on a different journey, but has definitely left me wanting to hear it with the full band soon, too! And we even got a sneak preview of a new song, which went over a storm with the live crowd. They were the perfect openers for this show, and are a band that are rightfully already gathering plenty of momentum for themselves in the UK rock scene!

Next up were the amazing Eddie & the Wolves. Yada yada best band in the world, yada yada future of rock… you know the drill by now. I just want to quickly thank not only the two bands and the venue for having us on the bill with them, but for every single person who came down to see us. We all had a blast up on stage, as warm as it was, and it felt like the crowd enjoyed it too! We’d taken a month off to do some studio stuff, so getting back up in front of a packed out venue was truly something special. And, it at least sounded good on our end, so hopefully it did out front, too! The setlist is refined and we’re firing on all cylinders. We’re all over the place this year so be sure to catch us somewhere else soon if you couldn’t make it here!

After a surprisingly painless changeover, the headliners too to the stage! We’re big fans of the band, and have seen them around a fair bit, so when I say they were on top form yet again here, you’d best believe it! All of them are masters of their chosen craft these days, and come together from their other projects for this one amazingly whenever they’re ready. And, we got a pretty varied setlist from them, too! From older songs to trying out new stuff to their biggest hits, we got a bit of everything, and it was all spectacular. It felt like banger after banger, and their hours set went by in a flash! It’s criminal that at this point they aren’t bigger, but regardless they are still putting on one hell of a show every time they step on stage. I feel like they have a big year ahead of them, and I for one cannot wait to see them again, as well as check out their new music as it drops!

Check out an interview we did with Indie too, here!

And there we have it, folks, a fantastic night full of amazing rock bands! All three knocked it out of the park and are a must-see for any fans of hard or blues rock reading this! The audience in attendance witnessed something special; three bands at the top of their game, playing their asses off, and in a pretty awesome venue to boot! We had a blast and can’t wait to see them all again ASAP!

News

George Thorogood Announces Final UK Tour with The Destroyers!

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For more than 50 years, George Thorogood and The Destroyers have remained one of the most consistent—and consistently passionate—progenitors of blues-based rock. And no one knows that better than the millions of fans who’ve seen them live. Formed in 1973 by guitarist, singer, and songwriter George Thorogood and drummer Jeff Simon, the Delaware-based band honed their sound on stages across the Northeast, building a devoted word-of-mouth following through their high-energy performances and blistering grooves.

The band have announced the final tour of the UK, as part of The Baddest Show on Earth tour of North America and Europe. There will be just two shows:Monday 29th June 2026 at University of Wolverhampton at the Civic Hall, followed by Tuesday 30th June 2026 at indigo at The O2 in London.

Tickets can be purchased here.

Speaking about The Baddest Show on Earth, Thorogood says, “When the lights go down, the downbeat hits and the audience erupts; all bets are off. The Destroyers are at their best when we play for the people, and these are some of our favourite—and rarest—performances from the past five decades. You wanted the baddest, you got it.”

Today, George Thorogood and The Destroyer – which currently consists of Jeff Simon (drums, percussion), Bill Blough (bass guitar), Jim Suhler (rhythm guitar), and Buddy Leach (saxophone)—have played more than 8,000 live shows. Career highlights include their record-breaking 50 States in 50 Dates tour in 1981; numerous high-profile tours alongside The Rolling Stones, Sammy Hagar, and ZZ Top, among others; over 15 million albums sold worldwide; plus landmark performances at Live Aid and Saturday Night Live.

News

Tuk Smith & The Restless Hearts Announce String of 2026 UK Dates!

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Rock ‘n’ rollers Tuk Smith & the Restless Hearts are pleased to share a string of 2026 tour dates this summer. The 7-date stint will see them kick things off at Maid Of Stone festival before taking in the sights of London, Southampton, Wolverhampton, Leeds, Glasgow, and an as-yet-unannounced show. This follows a busy 2025 from the band, touring with Danko Jones and blessing Planet Rockstock with their Nashville-tinged melodies and riffs!

Mr Smith himself shared:

“I’ve always had a special place in my heart for the UK ever since I first started playing here a decade ago with my previous band. This is my first proper UK tour as a solo artist and I’m just as excited now as I was back then!”

2026 Tour Dates:

Sun 19th Jul – MAID OF STONE Festival

Mon 20th Jul – LONDON The Grace

Wed 22nd Jul – SOUTHAMPTON 1865

Thu 23rd Jul – WOLVERHAMPTON KK’s Steel Mill

Fri 24th Jul – LEEDS The Key Club

Sat 25th Jul – *yet to be announced*

Sun 26th Jul – GLASGOW Classic Grind

Tickets go on sale TODAY! Pick them up here.

In case you missed it, Tuk also put out an incredible EP just last year! We loved it, and you want to buy it, find it here!

Tuk Smith is the kind of rock ’n’ roll ambassador you didn’t think existed anymore. Punk maverick from rural Georgia, Biters frontman, producer and solo artist, he’s seen the best and worst of a music industry in constant flux. By turns it’s left him critically acclaimed, poised for stadiums, dropped, burned out, back in the game and beloved by those for whom rock is still everything. Now based in Nashville, and with his own label Gypsy Rose Records, he creates from a more real place than most.

“I want to do something that means something to people,” Tuk says, “because a lot of shit nowadays is so disposable and so plastic. I just don’t connect with that. I’d like to do things that impact people positively. It’s a weird time on the planet, so to have songs about hope, but not be cheesy about it, it’s something I think we need with songwriting. That’s the kind of music I want to hear.”

Again, there’s that dichotomy he speaks of. “Rock ’n’ roll is essentially the illusion of not giving a fuck, right? Like, you know Axl Rose was doing sit-ups and jump rope, and Paul Stanley was on a cardio machine, and they come out and act like it just happens. The point is I sit at that piano many hours, working on this stuff.”

Reviews

Heavy on the Soul: How Does Ty Myers’ New Album Compare to The Select?

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The second album from the southern soul/country blues rising megastar drops this coming Friday to quite a bit of hype! The guy exploded onto the scene just last year with his critically acclaimed debut, especially when he was just 17 years old(!), so it feels like everyone has been waiting to see if he can follow it up with an equally good release. We got the chance to give it a bit of an early listen so desperately wanted to really sink our teeth in and see what the teenager has put together in barely a year. Let’s dive right in!

The album starts in a perfectly chilled way, with a low guitar melody backed by a simple beat. Ty’s vocals fit perfectly over the top, giving a country twang to the easy-listening pop instrumentation. And, while the track stays more stripped-back and slower, it builds in a few more instruments and definitely has a bigger-feeling chorus. Weirdly, I find myself drawing similarities to the likes of Cardinal Black and even The War & Treaty, that edge of soul and jazz and blues in there alongside the rest of the country, folk and pop. It’s a simple track but a beautiful one, and really sets the tone of the album perfectly!

‘Pedestal’ continues the same vibe perfectly, like a country-infused Newton Faulkner. It follows a similar formula to ‘Morning Comes’, but starting on just guitar and vocals makes it feel even bigger when the drums and the rest of the instrumentation comes in from the first chorus. I loved the little lead guitar licks too, being very bluesy, Ty showing off his incredible skills there, too. And at times his vocals and melodies even remind me more of that 90s alt rock sound, reminding me a little of Hootie & The Blowfish, Staggered Crossing and even Pearl Jam. While a little more relaxed than all those names, I really loved this track, and it easily makes it onto our playlist!

The pace and energy picks up for the bluesy ‘Don’t You Know’, showing off Ty’s range fantastically. Suddenly it’s more like Lenny Kravitz, and I’m fully down! From the great riff that runs through it to his more attitude-filled vocal delivery, the catchy hooks, the harmonies and those amazing horns, it’s all SO GOOD. And while I’d have loved the energy dialled up even 5% more, it’s still a fantastic track, and breaks up the album perfectly early on. It’s a song I am already desperate to see live, so hopefully he’s over I’m the UK soon! It’s maybe my favourite track on the album, and the second in a row that is a huge personal highlight!

‘Message to You’ slows things back down again. It’s certainly not an issue, as it’s a beautiful track in its own right and follows on from one of the more high-energy songs. The lyrics and vocals are bittersweet and packed full of emotion, fitting the tone of the track perfectly. Between it and ‘Woman’, they are the ballad tracks of the album. Both are excellent, slower, acoustic-based songs, and are put at pretty perfect places throughout the album; both feeling like earned emotional moments and helping the flow of the release. More amazing stuff!

The bouncy, bluesy energy returns perfectly with ‘Run Run Run’. Again giving off Kravitz vibes, it also has plenty of southern team and charm to it to cross over into country. It’s infectiously fun, and catchy as anything! It’s another absolutely excellent track that blends so many amazing sounds together like only Ty can do. His vocal style fits this sort of music amazingly too, almost more-so than the slower stuff. It’s also another one that I just HAVE to see live, and soon! And, though short, the guitar solo was also excellent, fitting the track to a tee. The talent on display is really off the charts. Honestly, I can’t get enough of it, and it’s yet another huge highlight on an album seemingly packed full of them!

‘Game Called Love’ is an almost Buffet-flavoured indie-country track, and is one that’s the perfect chilled vibe. It’s built for the beach, regardless of the lyrical content, and as someone who lives in the UK and as far away from the coast there as I can, alongside writing this review during a storm outside, this was absolutely what I needed! The subtle organ at times was a masterstroke, but all the instrumentation in this is so well put together and produced. It’s just a damn fun song, and one that will get even the most stubborn listeners dancing, or at least tapping their foot. I need this album to chill out, I’m starting to sound like a fangirl, aren’t I…?

Songs like ‘Leavin’ Carolina’, ‘Southbound’ and ‘Songs for You’ are more steady tracks like opening couple. All are good songs individually, as well as fitting the tone of the album perfectly. However, they certainly don’t stand out as much as some of the other tracks on the release. However, I honestly wouldn’t cut any of them, they all feel like they have their place here. The latter is probably my favourite of the trio.

‘Come on Over Baby’ is straight up classic blues in the best possible way. From some great acoustic riffing and playing to his New Orleans-drenched vocals and the build up into the massive, jazz-infused choruses, it’s all SO DAMN GOOD. Some of the guitar leads throughout are honestly phenomenal too, fitting the track excellently. The dynamics of the song are amazing, and make for a truly huge, well-earned final chorus. It’s a simple track so fantastically put together that it’s hard not to smile while listening to it. Old-school blues modernised into a 2026 package, and it’s impossible not to love it!

A piano leads ‘Through a Screen’, juxtaposing amazingly with the otherwise guitar-based album. It’s another ballad, but completely different to the others as it’s based much more around classical instruments. The strings swells are amazing, and it all once again builds to something truly magical at its crescendo. Once again, I can only marvel at the sheer talent on display from a writing and production standpoint. And I also love that it slowly strips back more and more to finish, closing out as it opened. Yet another fantastic highlight!

The only track on the album to feature a guest, the incomparable Marcus King does great on blues-funk number ‘Two Trains’. It’s got a great bounce and swagger to it, and both vocals complement each other perfectly. Also, the gospel harmonies through the choruses are fantastic, fitting the song so perfectly. It reminds me a little of mid-late 2000s Kid Rock, back when he wasn’t so cringy. And of course, a healthy dose of Lenny again for good measure. It’s another infectiously fun, really great track, and the fact that it has helped me get this far into the album without any semblance of fatigue is phenomenal.

The final three tracks round out the album excellently. They do feel like ‘Southbound’ et. Al, a little album track-y, but again all are that high quality that it would be a shame if they were cut from the release. The bluesy, almost TC3-like ‘Bad Guy’ is probably the stand-out from the three, but certainly none of them are bad. And ‘Good Morning Paris’ closes things perfectly with a moody folk-Americana sound that surprisingly feels like it brings in elements of most of the other tracks that precede it. And plus, the strings in the back end of it once again give it almost an epic feel to it. It’s a great way to close off, feeling like a true culmination of the last 16 tracks!

Overall: I didn’t know what to expect heading into this, but didn’t expect to love it as much as I did! For how long an album as it is, it is packed to the brim with standout tracks, and doesn’t once feel like it gets old or boring. Ty’s talent for songwriting and playing, across multiple instruments and sub-genres, is off the charts, and for a sophomore album to come out swinging this hard after such a big debut is incredible. If you are at all into any of the many genres this release covers, I cannot recommend checking it out enough. This will be certainly high on our albums of the year list come December, and I’ll be spinning it a lot in the weeks and months to come! The kid has an INSANELY bright future ahead of him!

The Score: 9/10

Interviews & Features

Paulie Boy Blues: ‘It felt like a monumental experience for me’

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We had the pleasure of chatting to the upcoming blues guitarist the other week about his recent UK shows, plans for more and what it’s like in the UK compared to back home. Check it all out below!

You’ve exploded onto the scene over the last year or so, how as that time been?

It’s been a great year! As a fan of this blues scene and UK blues players like Robin Trower, Philip Sayce and even Jimi Hendrix, it’s been a real thrill actually getting to have a stab at it myself!

How did you get into the blues scene? It’s not something as mainstream as it used to be!

Honestly, my answer for that would be that when I was in highschool, I took a music history class. My teacher took a special interest in me, really helped me get into this stuff and turned me onto the blues specifically. That’s where I went down the rabbit hole, right there. From there it was straight Stevie Ray Vaughan!

Definitely a good place to start!

You were over in the UK at the start of the year, right? How was the tour?

Yes, I just got back here Sunday last week [at the time of recording]!

It was the best tour of my life, man! I definitely feel like it was the most significant part of my career so far. It felt like a monumental experience for me. The Cluny [Newcastle], that crowd, the amount of love I received was unreal. I literally jumped off the stage into the crowd on the last song!

What’s the scene like back home compared to over here?

I mean, I don’t want to talk bad about my local music scene, but I would say for me personally that the scene in Scotland and the North East of England is incomparably better for me. I have better results.

Is it a case of it being a bit more saturated out there for that kind of music?

I guess so, yeah.

Your band for the tour were called The Yorkshire Puddings, how did that name come about?

Well, I met the guys on my last tour back in August with my band from America, we came and played like six shows in England and Scotland. These guys were opening for me in Newcastle. I met them there and we were borrowing their drum kit. The name came from… I wanted to have a way to separate the bands. One day when we look back on it, I didn’t want everything to be under the same name, I wanted the backing bands to be documented. The same way Jimi Hendrix had the Band of Gypsys and the Jimi Hendrix Experience, I wanted to do something like that! We wanted it to be something that people could look at it and instantly tell that it’s a British band.

And then you’re back over here in September, right? I saw you were announced for a festival!

I’m actually back in August! September is the last date of the run. I think we already have like eight shows in August. Then we’ve got Europe too, we’re playing Berlin in July.

Have you done much out in Europe before?

Never, just England and Scotland. I’m so excited to get into the German scene! It’s been a real privilege getting started in England and Scotland, I have a serious appreciation and love in my heart for both. The way these countries have embraced me has really helped my early career.

In terms of studio stuff, are you sticking to singles for now? Is there a longer release on the way?

We plan on something longer, of course, but for now we’re just trying to write songs, record them and put them out, you know. We’re recording one right now, actually!

I feel like it’s quite hard to put out these days. It’s geared towards singles but it’s so hard to keep up the grind sometimes!

Yeah! I’m going to put out some live recordings, too. I love live recordings; if I ever get one I really like I’ll put it out! From our last tour we got some, just takes a couple of weeks, you know!

Do you have a dream tour lineup you’d want to be a part of?

I mean, not so much a dream lineup, more so a lineup of countries. There’s so many people I’d love to tour with, I could list 30 people right now! You know, Buddy Guy, Jimmie Vaughan, the guys who are still standing! A tour with Eric Clapton would be great!

If you could have written a song from history, what would it have been?

Low key actually, ‘Johnny B. Goode’. I was saying this just the other day, that I can’t believe Chuck Berry made that song. Like he’s not covering it, he made that song. How someone wrote something so good is amazing. So I think I’d go with that!