The top hatted front man returns to UK shores for a one off appearance at the legendary Hammersmith Apollo on June 6th. With Myles Kennedy and The Conspirators in tow and a brand spanking new album to show off, you don’t want to miss this! More here.
Bruce Springsteen
The Boss himself is back for a stadium tour this June after the recent release of his 17th studio album Wrecking Ball. With the trusty E Street Band joining him, the loss of the legendary Clarence Clemons will be huge, but no doubt they will make him proud! Dates and tickets here.
Pearl Jam
As part of their PJ20 world tour, Europe finally gets its turn when grunge pioneers Pearl Jam return for a couple of dates in Manchester. After their hugely successful and inspiring DVD, their visit is not one to be missed! Check it out here.
Download Festival
Now in it’s 10th year, Download has gone all out to celebrate this year and got some of the biggest names in rock on their bill including the mighty Sabbath and Metallica. As well as the big names, some of rocks future stars are also appearing giving a nice blend of new and old! Check out the website for more info.
Beth Hart
The songstress, hailing from LA, hits UK shores this month for her own headline tour. Famed for her incredibly unique soulful voice and her work with the likes of Slash and Joe Bonamassa, you really should make the effort to witness her talent yourself! All info here.
Song of the day
Ugly Kid Joe - Everything About You
Song of the day!
Jack White - Sixteen Saltines
Joe Bonamassa - Driving Towards The Daylight
A master of blues guitar, Joe Bonamassa is one of the hardest working musicians around. When he’s not focusing on his well acclaimed solo career, he is part of super group Black Country Communion.
Sticking to the typical blues singer-songwriter style, Driving Towards The Daylight is another strong album in Bonamassa’s collection. The majority of the album is covered material with a few exceptions, including opener Dislocated Boy. An echoing keyboard melody rings out before the song kicks in, a very catchy beginning with offbeat picks ups and a strong beat. Title track Driving Towards The Daylight had it’s live debut recently and is a very mellow, beautiful track. Bonamassa pays tribute to blues hero’s Robert Johnson and Howlin’ Wolf with great covers that respect everything that made the originals amazing, but with his own twist to make the song his own. Heavenly Soul completes the trio of the guitarists own songs; featuring tight vocal harmonies and an interesting guitar breakdown, it proves Bonamassa still has brilliant writing capabilities.
As the saying goes, ‘no rest for the wicked,’ and we hope Joe Bonamassa is someone who carries on producing compelling blues albums!
Songs I’d recommend:Dislocated Boy, Lonely Town Lonely Street, New Coat Of Paint.
Laura Woodhead
Song of the day
Nine Inch Nails - March of the Pigs
Scissor Sisters - Magic Touch
It was eight years ago that Scissor Sisters released their disco fuelled cover of Comfortably Numb, the song that turned them into both roaring success and household name practically overnight. And now they are back with their 4th album Magic Hour in which they describe as ‘future-pop’, quite what that means I don’t know but it certainly seems a move in the right direction, taking a couple of swerves on the way.
Packed full of big names like Calvin Harris, Pharrell Williams and Azealia Banks some may say this is the New Yorkers jumping on the bandwagon of what is ‘current’ and new in an attempt to sound fresh, but, even if this may be the case the result is a good one.
Opener Baby Come Home is typical Scissor Sisters, likened to Take Your Mama Out with its honky tonk piano and clap along beat. Inevitable takes on a 70s slow down disco Bee Gees feel, and of course with Jake Shears distinctive voice, its a smooth track with a glittery feel. Lets Have A Kiki is a riot. In classic Scissters style, it’s a mental mash of beats, synth and Ana Matronics crazy lyrical spoutings over the top. If you have ever listened to any Scissters pre-debut album, its is very much in the same vain, think Electrobix etc. Shady Love and Only The Horses are chart fuelled anthems, great choices for singles. Self Control is most definitely an ode to 90s dance classics, probably the best single on the album.
There are a few misses, but too few to mention. What Scissor Sisters have done here is recreate some of the bite and playful magic that was lost on their previous album Night Work. It’s a little all over the place, in the sense it’s a lot of different styles thrown together rather than one continuous theme, but I think this gives the record a little more of a party feel, kind of covering all aspects. The closer F**k Yeah, again is classic Scissor Sisters, playful, funny, crazy. Reminds us of why we fell in love with them in the first place. Not you average pop act, thank god for that!
Caris Smith
Song of the day
Pearl Jam with Neil Young - Keep On Rockin’ in the Free World
Song of the day!
The Answer - Too Far Gone
Download 2012!
All this glorious sunshine has got us excited for festival season. In little over a week, thousands of rockers will be heading to the legendary Donington Park for this years Download Festival.
In preparation, we have put together a little playlist of some of the bands we are most excited to see and bands you should definitely head to see yourself!
