Beartooth – Disease
After Disgusting set the pulses racing back in 2014 it’s been a tough road for Beartooth. Aggressive tried to follow the same formula but fell short and then a leak meant Disease was announced to scepticism from many fans. The title track from the album has been available to listen to for a month now and continues to split opinion. The animosity from Disgusting seems like a distant dream now with a more A Day To Remember style being adopted. The vocal hooks are still there and the track is enjoyable for the most part, a step up from Aggressive for sure, but it still doesn’t reach the heights of Disgusting.
The Absurd – Squashing Pumpkins
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The Absurd have been doing their thing in the LA underground now for a a few years and have started making a name for themselves over there. ‘Squashing Pumpkins’ is the final single they are releasing before their debut album drops in just a couple of short months and it is a clear indication of what we should be expecting from the band. The immediate vibe from the track is rock ‘n’ rock. No two ways about it. This is a rock band with a bit of everything about them. Powerful vocals, psychedelic riffs and a whole lot of fun. It’s easy to see why their popularity is growing stateside.
Blake Red – Face It
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Released this Friday, ‘Face It’ is a balls to the wall hard rock track from solo artist Blake Red. The track is is the first from her upcoming debut EP and has a heavy focus on mental health and helping to spread awareness. The track is not perfect, but it isn’t meant to be. It’s rough around the edges, the mix is a little off and it’s well and truly in your face. The vocals are powerful and musically the track is just heavy throughout. As a debut track this is a statement of intent.
The Fallaways – Six New Ways
Another balls out rock track is up next with ‘Six New Ways’ from The Fallaways. Ultimately the opposite way of dealing with life to the previous track with the track focusing of different ways of getting ‘shit-faced’. As long as you’re not following the advice of the track too closely then you’re in for a fun-filled two and a half minutes that is likely to be a great start to any night out. Fans of The Treatment’s earlier work will likely feel at home here.
Ritzy Park – Mama Earth
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Slowing things down considerably we have Berlin, Germany based 70s style rockers Ritzy Park with their Climate Change inspired anthem ‘Mama Earth’. They’ve managed to take that classic 70s fuzzy rock sound and bring it bang up to date from a lyrical and musical point of view without losing any of its authenticity. Lyrically it’s as you would expect from a song called ‘Mama Earth’, referencing the Earth taking back what we’ve taken from her. A strong message driving a wonderfully thought out rock track.
Black Bear Rodeo – Blue Pencil
Bursting out the blocks we have American rockers Black Bear Rodeo with ‘Blue Pencil’, a track with a stand out bassline that doesn’t just do the current tradition of tracking the drums. The track on the whole is a pretty standard rock tune for about 75% of it, but it’s the 25% that sets it apart and gives Black Bear Rodeo their unique sound and that is evident straight from the off. This is a track that is fast paced and enjoyable on first listen but grows each time you put it on after that.
Ill-Gotten Guns – To The Cosmos
Ill-Gotten Guns are up next with their new track ‘To The Cosmos’ and, following a theme set earlier in this piece, it’s a fuzzy ‘Smashing Pumpkins’ style, guitar fuelled romp. Kicking off with a slow riff you immediately get transported back a couple of decades to the 90s where bands like the Pumpkins and Placebo were at their peak with it’s steady pace and vocals that are a little too low in the mix. It’s a well received throwback that will get you following the band.
Ayla Ray – Mistress
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Released on Friday 17th, ‘Mistress’ is the debut single and title track from upcoming debut album from Ayla Ray. Fans of bands like The Mars Volta will recognise some of the guitar work on show, with echoes of Frances The Mute in places. As a track it fits in so well across so many genres in the way that Royal Blood swept everyone, alternative and mainstream, aside a few years ago. This is mostly down to the vocals which move from rock influenced to pop effortlessly. An intriguing track that will push boundaries.
Stepping Sideways – Destined To Fall
Fans of bands like Disturbed, Five Finger Death Punch and Sevendust will have their ears pricked by Stepping Sideways’ recently released track ‘Destined To Fall’. Vocally it is on par with all of those mentioned above, with big riffs and a message that makes the track perfect for American rock radio. It may struggle a little more in the UK as the big riffs mentioned aren’t really anything new, though a big support tour could see them take off.
Sonny Crocket – e.t.
Swedish rockers Sonny Crocket close out this episode of Singles Only with their track ‘e.t.’. A blast from the past as it is from their album ‘sonny says’ from 2011. The track is a fast paced affair with raw vocals and some strong, if not slightly repetitive drumming. The track only comes in at just over two minutes but it’s a great taster for what the band have to offer. Here’s hoping there’s more to come from them.
Here are the playlists featuring all the songs covered on Singles Only.
To get your band into the ‘Singles Only’ feature, please head to submithub.com.
