We hit New Zealand, Ireland, the USA, Norway and Italy in this episode of Singles Only. Get jumped in and give our playlist a follow at the bottom!
Empty Set – ‘I’ | Label’s Facebook
A long (although in prog terms probably quite short) intro sees you deep into the first minute of Empty Set’s ‘I’ before a riff dips and dives around a regimented drum beat. Then, as the vocals kick in, memories of the early 90s kick in. Soundgarden and Chris Cornell seem to be strong influences here though, despite only be 4 and a half minutes long, the aforementioned dipping and diving makes the track a tour de force. Echoes of Spoonman are there, though they are just echoes – this is not a re imagining of the track. If you’re a fan of dirty tracks about impending doom that have hallmarks of legends past then ‘I’ is probably right up your street.
The Summer Cult – ‘The Red End’| Facebook
Starting out sounding like something from the cutting room floor in System Of A Down HQ, ‘The Red End’ soon changes to a euphoric QOTSA style romp. Vocally there isn’t a comparison, here the vocals fit the ‘hard rock’ style that the opening riff brings. If you think ‘Feel Good Hit Of The Summer’ minus the list of brain altering substances, but heavier, you might get an idea of what’s happening here. The Norwegians will be releasing an album in August this year so keep a close eye on this bunch.
Gabe Aronson – ‘SFLS’ | Facebook | Instagram
Toning it down a chunk here Gabe brings soft vocals and a pretty opening that has more than a casual no towards Skynyrd’s ‘Tuesday’s Gone’ both in terms of style and pacing but then, just as you’re getting comfortable you get Weezered (yes that’s a verb now) by an explosion of guitars and Bowie style vocals. First time you go back to the comfort of before, second time the angst levels are shot through the roof and all of sudden Marilyn Manson seems to be the main inspiration. How the fuck did we get from Skynyrd to Manson? I have no idea personally but just embrace it.
Shrink Like Alice– ‘Beside The Last Thing You Think’ | Facebook | Twitter
With Shrink Like Alice we’re treated to a little bit of Irish hard rock with a hint of bands like Placebo and Blind Melon. Big riffs, big vocals with the only thing that’s really missing being a strong bassline as it just sorts of sits behind the lead guitars. The track is the band’s first professionally recorded release and the money has been well spent with a tight performance of a well written rock song to show for it. This band may just be starting out but they’ve written a track here that belies their youth as a band. If this track was released 15/20 years ago it could have made it huge in the UK and this song in particular is a nice throwback to that rock style.
Coridian – ‘Reflections’ | Facebook | Twitter
Coridian are the final band this time and their melodic rock song ‘Reflections’ contains as much emotion and passion as any that we’ve featured. The vocals rise and fall with a pacey riff that does sometimes overpower them, but that’s by the by really. Hailing from New Zealand you can feel the effects of UK rock throughout the song and the early 00’s are ventured to again here. Fans of big, powerful choruses will be in heaven here – though I feel that the band will truly come alive in a live setting.
So there they are. Give the playlist a listen and a follow here and keep up to date with these five and the other bands featured so far:
To get your band into the ‘Singles Only’ feature, please head to submithub.com.