South Wales born rock band Florence Black have become rising stars over the last few years, earning high praise from the likes of Benji Webb, Ben Wells and even Corey Taylor has called them ‘BAD ASS.’ The band have released three EPs and a slew of singles since 2016, but have been hard at work recently getting ready to release their first studio album, ‘weight of the world.’
The album is to drop on September 17th and was recorded at Long Wave Recording Studio with producer Romesh Dodangoda. Two singles have been released so far, ‘CAN YOU FEEL IT?’ and ‘SUN & MOON.’
Tristan Thomas, the vocalist, had this to say about the album:
“‘Weight Of The World’ is the culmination of our time as Florence Black. It’s a mixture of songs written at our very beginning and brand new material just created, blended together and shaped into one. The pressure and anticipation of releasing our debut album, feels like we have the weight of the world on our shoulders, especially with waiting what has felt like since the beginning of time to get it recorded and released. We wanted that reflected in the title and the artwork. Not to mention, with Romesh Dodangoda’s production, the sound is as heavy as Planet Earth too!”
We for one cannot wait to hear the full album, and y’all best keep an eye out because we sure as heck will be reviewing it when it’s out!
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Comedy country-rock band Bootyard Bandits have been floating around the UK underground scene for a couple of years now, gaining more and more momentum seemingly with each passing month. I end up seeing them on more and more festival line-ups, which is a great thing, and initially discovered them myself after a frankly fantastic recommendation from Spotify. Because of that, I have heard of a good four or more of the songs on this album already, but I have to say I do like them and I am excited to review them properly. Join me in checking out this review, things are about to get silly!
Straight away with the opening track ‘M.I.L.F’, you can see what I mean. Bursting into a great, speedy country-rock riff, the song oozes sleaze and attitude. The feel and tempo keep up throughout the song and the lyrics immediately pull no punches. Singing about a beautiful woman in ridiculous detail who the band would essentially like to be dominated by, it sets the tone for the album and the band’s sound and style pretty perfectly. However, do not let the crudeness distract from the great instrumentation. The breakdown riff after the second chorus is great, boarding on metal with its heaviness, and the lyrics over the top add to the awesomeness. I was hoping for a guitar solo to complete the greatness of this song but it didn’t happen, we instead got another awesome chorus to close things out. A damn good opening song for what is going to be a ridiculous album, I’m sure.
Next up is one I have heard before and my personal favourite song by the band so far, ‘Country Music’. Another great opening riff leads to another surprisingly heavy guitar riff through the verses. The vocals fit perfectly between the guitar parts, and the harmonies only make it sound even better. It all builds to the gag of the song, the opening line of the song satirically splitting up the first word of the song title and honestly catching me off guard the first time I heard it, as well as leaving me in hysterics of course. The chorus as a whole isn’t nearly as catchy as the previous song, but the riffs and comedy are a little better in my opinion. We get a dropdown after the second chorus, a great, VERY metal guitar riff filling the gap between the vocals and the cymbal heavy drums as the song builds up more and more before it explodes into a huge final chorus. More silly humour that I cannot help but enjoy and backed up by awesome music, I cannot complain at all. Playlisted!
The band’s biggest song to date, ‘Hoedown Showdown’ (nope, I’m not making this up!) is up next. A slightly steadier country-rock riff opens this one up, heading into a pretty stripped-back verse with heavy blues vibes. If it wasn’t for the lyrics, I’d say it’d be the perfect radio-rock song for them. The chorus is pretty open and massive, but the spread-out lyrics ruin it for me just a little bit – it slows down the song a little too much for me. The lyrics in general are a little worse than the previous two songs too, a little more on the nose like modern-day Steel Panther instead of subtler and funnier than old-school Panther. There isn’t much to the song – just two verses, two choruses and then a quick bridge and final chorus. I get that it was supposed to be their most accessible song, but it just felt a little basic to me.
‘Let’s Rodeo’ opens into the most enjoyable part of the album from a musical standpoint with a simple, fun guitar riff, a singular, slow bass drum and some catchy vocals. The backing and harmonies behind the vocals make them sound even better and add to the impact, and honestly add to their catchiness. It builds up perfectly with a drum roll into what I assume to be the chorus guitar riff after a vocal callout of the song title. Unfortunately, there is slightly more to the second verse – being a steady chugging guitar and drumbeat. It was still good, but it didn’t sound as good as the first verse. There is even less to this song in terms of structure, there just being three verses and three choruses, but the addition of the strings for the third chorus and a short solo from them instead of the pre sound great and add more country to just about any other song I have heard written by a British artist. I’m umming and erring about whether to put this song on the playlist or not. Why don’t you go over to it and check, see which way I ended up deciding…?
Next up is another song I know already and kinda love, ‘Shirt Potatoes’. It’s another song that, despite the ridiculous, hilarious premise written around a woman’s chest, is fantastic musically. The opening riff is the perfect mixture of country and sleaze, fitting the lyrics perfectly. The open verse of mainly just drums and vocals always works well too, and the vocals are so strong and powerful that they easily carry it through. The chorus isn’t the catchiest I’ve heard but the lyrics are silly enough to make it work and make more childish people happily want to sing along to it. The heavy few seconds in the middle of the second chorus is also worth bringing up, the call and response vocals with the dropping out guitar chords sounded awesome. It’s also taken me this long to realise just how much the singer sounds like Nathan James of Inglorious, but you can definitely hear it with the high notes. I also remember now why I like this song so much – it’s finally got a guitar solo in it and it’s a damn good one, definitely worth the wait. A final chorus and outro of course take this home and this song is another highlight of the album.
The next song has me interested as it features a guest who I am a big fan of at the minute, Christopher Bowes of Alestorm. It opens on a typically good, heavy riff for the band and this album at this point, and the verse isn’t too out of the ordinary for what I’ve heard so far either. The chorus is basic again but the backing vocals drive it forwards enough to make it catchy. Christopher comes in for the second verse, his distinctive vocals lending a lot to the track, in my opinion. The two bands mesh together pretty well too, especially on such a party-centric song. Unfortunately, there isn’t much more involvement from him outside of the odd line in the final choruses that you can hear him in. It’s a shame, as Alestorm is one of the best bands in rock at the minute for doing things a little different. Another good guitar solo but outside of that and the inclusion of Christopher, this wasn’t much we haven’t heard already.
The same sort of analysis could be given for the next few songs. ‘Hobby Horse’, ‘Ladies Man’, and ‘Cowboys and Indian Takeaway’ are all fairly similar in feeling and style to the previous songs on this album. It isn’t a bad thing at all, it just means I don’t have much to talk about. There is one track that is different though, the most-likely-to-offend-someone track winner of the album, ‘Cowperson’. Clearly being inspired by Bon Jovi’s ‘Dead Or Alive’, hilarious in of itself, it’s the first ballad and change of pace we’ve had at all on the album so far, which is very welcome. It’s a damn good ballad that wouldn’t seem out of place in the 80s if it wasn’t for the crazy, gender-confused, children’s-toy-related lyrics.Â
‘Vanessa’ continues the trend of sleazy-country pretty steadily, but I did want to talk about just how damn good of a chorus it had. It’s the best on the album I’d say, featuring massively catchy and fun lyrically as well as some impressive high notes being hit vocally. Outside of that, it’s pretty standard, much like the following few tracks, ‘Outlaw’, ‘Family Tree’ and ‘Doc Holiday’. There are some genuinely amazing lyrics in here, and some more good riffs and solos, but 13 songs (14 if you count the last one) of pretty similar music, tempo and style do get a little much all at once.
The final song, as the name itself explains, is a Christmas one. It’s good, even if it sounds pretty close to all their other stuff. The chorus is enjoyable but it isn’t something I’d actually listen to much around the festive season.
Overall: This was a damn enjoyable album. It was pretty bloated; I think 15 songs was a little much and it could have been cut down to 11 pretty easily and therefore stand a little stronger, but every song was at least fun. I cannot wait to finally catch them live at some point soon and I think they have a bright future ahead of them.
Score: 7/10
Did you like our review? Check out more of them here.
A term coined back in 2017 for the resurgence of a classic sound brought about by the likes of Inglorious and The Dead Daisies, the New Wave of Classic Rock has gone from strength to strength since and has found itself at the forefront of the underground scene over the past couple of years. That has in large part been down to the fantastic efforts of a lot of people behind the scenes, helping promote the bands and form a real community around the sub-genre. It has led to this, a 42-track collection of some of the best the genre has to offer. I for one am familiar with a good few of the bands contained on it and I’m a big fan so I’m excited to get the chance to review them.
To put it simply, it’s 42 smaller bands getting some much-needed exposure, and I could not be happier to listen to it and help by both buying and reviewing it. This may be a long one – who’s ready?
Massive Wagons start us off with their 2015 hit, ‘Tokyo’. It’s a fantastic track that perfectly encapsulates the genre. It’s a middle-paced stomper full of 70’s inspired riffs, soaring, powerful vocals, and a massive (pun intended), catchy chorus. It wouldn’t feel out of place on a Rainbow or even AC/DC chorus with that sort of vibe – a real stadium-filler of a song and a big reason as to why the band is one of the biggest up-and-coming British artists around.
Next up is Mason Hill. I’ve listened to their debut album before and I have to admit that while I didn’t enjoy every single song, ‘DNA’ was one of the standout tracks on it. The main riff alone is a massive positive, quick, driving, heavy guitar pairing fantastically with the slower drums. The backing vocals and harmonies are also on point throughout, be it in the pre-chorus or chorus which both feature different layers and styles in each part. Another great track from such a young band.
Hollowstar‘s biggest track ‘All I Gotta Say’ starts off slower than the other two, having a beautiful clean chord progression for the first verse before another amazing, heavy guitar riff cuts through it and launches the song into a faster pace. The verses stay slower but the real highlight is the heavier choruses, blasting out with huge power chords and catchy vocals from Joe Bonson. Three for three with amazing tracks so far.
These Wicked Rivers give us a bit more of a scrappier track more reminiscent of Rival Sons and older bands like Rolling Stones than the more polished and produced tracks we’ve had so far. That doesn’t take away from the quality at all though. The riff is again awesome; it is lighter and higher than the others and the chorus is maybe one of the catchiest of the album.
We finally reach a band I haven’t heard of – Anchor Lanewith their track ‘Fame Shame’. The band definitely fits into the NWOCR sub-genre but I hear just a little Soundgarden in here too – there’s some of that faster, heavy grunge vibe to it. I have to admit, I’m a fan. The breakdown was pretty great too and the chorus was just as catchy as some of the others on the album. The band has found a new fan in me!
Empyre gives us another middle-paced track, filled with palm-muted guitars and low drums that contrast nicely with the powerful, awesome vocals. The chorus is a great riff but, outside of that, it doesn’t take off any, staying at the steady, low pace. The guitar solo in the middle is fantastic though and the vocals almost remind me of Peter Steele’s at times. A good track and the slowest so far.
Daxx And Roxane are a band I have been recommended a couple of times before but just haven’t had the chance to check out. I’m so glad that this changed today as ‘Without You’ is an awesome track. Channelling some real Poison vibes with this track but modernising it for the current scene is awesome. The riff is infectious, making me bob my head throughout, and the vocals are powerful: soaring and catchy. They have a new fan in me and I can’t wait to hopefully catch them on the festival circuit next year!
Sons of Libertyare one of the surprising number of bands on this album that I first heard at HRH a couple of years ago and have been a fan of them ever since. ‘Fire and Gasoline’ is a great AC/DC style chugging rock song, incorporating both the catchy soaring vocals and the lower, almost power-metal-esque style through the verses. Its catchy, infectious chorus hook is enough to push it into our playlist alone but the rest of the song is awesome too.
Tequila Mockingbyrd and Cult Classics alumni united to formThe Hot Damn! at the back end of last year and launched their debut single at the start of the month ready for this release. I was a big fan of the two separate bands that the frontwomen were part of and I have purposely been holding out on listening to the track so that I could review it properly with this album. ‘Dance Around’ is a great track that feels punkier than the rest of the songs so far. It feels like it was inspired by early Wildhearts in the best way – catchy, light and bouncy throughout. Gill Montgomery’s vocals fit perfectly over the instrumentation and the harmonies throughout the chorus work so well. Another fantastic new band!
Everyday Heroes give us another bluesy stomper of a track. It’s mid-paced and good but I’m sad to say it fades into the background a tad after so many phenomenal tracks before it. The harmonies were nice though, as was the solo. I kind of felt the same about the next track, Elles Bailey‘s ‘Woman Like Me’. It was definitely different from the previous tracks on the album but it didn’t fit as much into the sub-genre as the others. It felt closest to The Doors to me, a band that I wouldn’t necessarily class as classic rock. It was a good song and a well-needed change of pace in a solely hard rock album, but there wasn’t too much to it. It was a nice chilled-out song though and the solo in the middle was great!
Scarlet Rebelspick the pace back up with a great riff and some awesome pinch harmonics to open ‘No One Else to Blame’. I actually can’t get enough of the riff; it is the highlight of the song for me, though the chorus is pretty decent too! Meanwhile, Wolf Jaw offer up their own brand of slower blues-rock to the mix. Lead by the funky bassline and simple drumbeat, Tom Leighton’s vocals fitting perfectly over the top of them. It picks up perfectly into the chorus too, the guitars adding some great layers into it and pushing the vocals up higher. Another fantastic track!
Tomorrow Is Lost’s production is second to none on this album; the quality when the instruments explode over the top of the bassline sounds MASSIVE. It only adds to the epicness of the track as it builds perfectly from the verse through to the amazing chorus. I haven’t heard the song before as I hadn’t even heard of the band but damn, it’s one of my favourite tracks on the album. Even the awesome distorted vocals that kind of acted like the solo was awesome and such a unique take on the conventional rock style that I couldn’t not love it. An awesome track and I shall definitely be listening to more from the band!
Riff machines Dead Man’s Whiskey bring the power and attitude with ‘War Machine’. The vocals are good but the instrumentation for me is the real highlight of the track. The riff is just so infectious that even the awesome call and response backing vocals through the chorus could beat it. Meanwhile, Dig Lazarus channels similar vibes to The Hot Damn! with a great punk rock track. It’s driving from start to finish and simple yet pretty effective. However, I do feel like it would get a tad lost in the shuffle among the other incredible tracks on the collection.
Next is a band that I need no introduction to as they have been one of my favourite bands of the last few years, The New Roses. Because of this, I shall spare my relentless gushing over the band that I have done to my friends and over social media and instead I urge everyone reading this to CHECK THEM OUT. The track on this album, ‘Whiskey Nightmare’, is a great starting point. So, what are you waiting for? Go check out your new favourite band already!
Shape of Water (not the fish porn movie) is another song that feels like it revolves around an awesome riff. The vocals work well over the top, giving off a massive sludgy/bluesy vibe to the whole thing – almost like a stoner rock song like Kyuss or Masters of Reality. It was another welcome change of pace on an album that has a lot of similar music, making me like this song a lot as a result!
Häxan sounds good but their track feels as much lost in the shuffle as a couple of the others, there isn’t much special about it that hasn’t already been done. The same can be said about the final two tracks of the first disc from Rival Black and Gin Annie. Both are good songs in their own right but offer little in the way of variety.
It isn’t until disc two begins with the always fantasticPhil Cambell and the Bastard Sons that the album truly gets back to form. The man from Motorhead has been firing on all cylinders during his current solo project and releasing arguably some of the best music of his career, and ‘Son of a Gun’ is no exception. A great hard rock song and another highlight of the collection.
The Dust Coda’s ‘When The Tide Comes in’ has a catchy as anything opening vocal hook, especially when the rest of the band come im. It’s the highlight of the song, the rest not quite as fun. Unfortunately Skam, another band I am usually a fan of, fade a little into the background with the sheer quality on display throughout these two discs.
Collateral offers a fresh change of pace, this time going for a Bon Jovi ‘Wanted Dead or Alive’ style with ‘Merry Go Round’. It’s an enjoyable, acoustic lead song, filled with catchy vocal hooks, huge choruses and awesome backing vocals. It’s the ballad this album needed and is definitely a good one. Another band I haven’t heard enough of!
Bad Touch provides the most controversial track on the album for me. I used to gig with them a lot back in the day and, as good as this song is, I have to admit I prefer their older stuff. I don’t know what the difference between ‘I Get High’ and something like ‘Wise Water’ is and maybe it’s simply nostalgia.Â
Massive was one of the few to record a new song ready for this release. We covered their latest single ‘Rise’ when it first came out so check that out!Â
The next few tracks from bands like Gorilla Riotand Thundermother all felt a little samey at this point, something that is unfortunately going to happen with so many songs from the same sub-genre. The next one that kind of caught my ear was Rewswith ‘Today We’re Warriors’, and that’s mainly because it sounds pretty similar to something Dorothy would release. It’s more pop-rock leaning and another nice and appreciated change of pace on this LONG album.
Twistergives us a good track that somehow blends glam and punk seamlessly, and Bootyard Banditsbring their own fantastic brand of comedy and country-rock to the proceedings. Doomsday Outlawgives off some great country/blues vibes too and Ashen Reach shows off their impressive AOR sound and style, almost metal in its execution.
Ryders Creedgot me excited for a second as their guitar tone was pretty reminiscent of early Nickelback (to a point where the riff seems almost a straight rip of ‘Hangnail’) but when the vocals kicked in it became a lot lighter and radio-bait-y. It’s not bad but I had never really understood the hype around this band to begin with, so it would have taken a lot to convince me.
The final track saved the same-ness of the second disk for me with Blackwater Conspiracy’s ‘Soul Revolutionaries’. It gave off almost Rod Stewart vibes at times, being a lighter, poppier rock song but it was done so well and enjoyably that it became one of my favourite tracks of the album. The driving guitars, subtle piano, and soaring vocals were all massive highlights and drew me back to a band I haven’t listened to enough of recently. An awesome way to close an album!
Overall: I have to admit right out of the gate that 42 tracks/bands took a lot to listen to in one session. However, the sheer ambition of this album has to be applauded and being able to showcase so many smaller, incredible bands on a release such as this is amazing. There were a lot of awesome tracks on the album from bands that deserve to be a lot bigger than they are and hopefully this will give them a platform to really launch off of!
