UK Rebel rockers Rival Karma pen their first political anthem with their new single Minds of the Many. The intense riff rock design is complete with syncopated pickups and thrashing solos. The swaggery rockers recall the classic glam-blues of T Rex with a touch of the riff rock known to the James Gang. They fall into the style of bands like The Black Keys and The White Stripes who revive this classic feel with indie sensibility. Minds of The Many also brings an additional trippy mid song breakdown fit for a spliff. Just enough for you to daze out before reclaiming your rock fervor. In the spirit of Queens of The Stone Age, these riffs come with an intellectual attention to detail and design. Referencing the vintage feel of this treasured era but careful to make it their own, the duo is carving out a niche for themself with each impressive release.
Lyrically, Minds of the Many is more about political angst than it is about supporting a specific cause. It references the frustration regular folks endure from elitists political postering. It connects with classic anthems by Creedence and Black Sabbath, in how they lamented common peoples position in the political game. They screw it up, and we get the bill. Hundreds of years of cultural awakening and not much has changed, we’re still the pawns in their game. Mostly the lyrics just give this jam a time and place. Minds of The Many is a thrashing rock song fit for any general contempt for authority. Whether you’re sick of your job or your place in the world, you can blow a little off to this fiery offering.
Get pissed to Minds of the Many now on our Best New Rock playlist
Space-out to Promises, the new single from In-Flight Movie. True to form, the cinematic sonic palette supports the songs progressive design. Always upbeat, the song alternates between a vibe heavy verse section and an energetic hard rock chorus. Lifted by crisp textured synths, Promises has some retro appeal. The synth textures recall Gary Numan’s innovative approach with Tubeway Army. It should appeal to fans of retrowave and synthwave revivals craving a rock update. Reimagined in this indie song design, it could draw similarities to The Killers, Bell X1, and Muse, but with even more ferocity in the singers emphatic chorus delivery.
Promises is a radio ready infectious hit. The undeniable melodic appeal and intelligent arrangement is the same ethos that lifted the aforementioned indie crossovers to mainstream success. The big sound has arena potential and enough energy to inspire a festival crowd ready to reclaim rock over electronica’s recent intrusion. Their third single in three years, it connects elegantly with past releases. Showing a penchant for new wave aesthetic with Interpol era post punk attitude, In-Flight Movie looks to push their momentum into an album release due out later this year.
Enjoy Promises now on our Best New Rock Playlist
Bay area bangers The Chaw explode on their recent full album release Build Them An Image. The trio bursts right out the gate on the angry testosterone heavy Boil In Blood. Oakland angst drips from the madman vocal delivery, full with character and swagger, it’s an infection that prevails throughout the albums stylistic frame. It can be more black leather like on I’ll Row, or just straight up pissed like on the aforementioned opener.
The raging riffage from dirty guitars is highlighted by thrashing bends and swells, like on the impressive Iron Shoes, it’s as if the guitarist has a vendetta against the instrument.
The hard hitting drive of the bass and drums propels almost every number. Rarely settling like on the closing Dreaming In The Town, but mostly pushing every song forward with intense calculation.
The Chaw are tight, revitalizing rock in their 20 years banging around the Bay Area scene. Embracing their sacred Oakland, they wear the city’s rough reputation like a badge of honor. It chewed them up but never spit them out, they’re still wading in the wallows of angst and apathy for all things mainstream. The riff rock design might draw similarities to Queens of The Stone Age, but with even more contempt and resentment for the opiate of the masses. There’s a hint of the cool kid swagger known to indie icons Morphine, and even some melodic cues known to 90s Psych Pop acts like The Verve. At its roots are vintage vibes known to post punk innovaters like The Cult and Killing Joke. Soaking in everything rock has offered in its treasured history and paired with the ethos of their own scene, Build Them An Image is masterful. All killer no filler – dig in to the entire release.
Get started with I’ll Row now on our Best New Rock Playlist
There’s only one SamSeb Kierkegaard. The eccentric songwriter has a style all their own, carving out their own niche of emo-centric anthemic rock. Drawing from elements of metal, pop, and alternative, SamSeb Kierkegaard explodes with youthful energy and angst. This fiery determination is on full display with the new conceptual EP Luna: Fantasy Named Happiness. We were initially drawn to the catchy melodic vocal design and the singers distinctive howl. There’s both elements of emo and new wave in the classic vocal appeal. It’s a mix between Dashboard Confessional, Panic at the Disco!, and the sultry croon of INXS. The theatrical focal shapeshifting is most evident on the single Luna Moonlight.
There’s also heavy doses of Punk, like on the frantic Dependent Personality Disorder. The South Korean native connects with that country’s emerging punk scene and its huge appetite for rock. Also Inspired by artists like the emotive Soft Cult and indie pop princess Holly Humberstone, and citing Bowie and Placebo as influences, SamSeb is drawn to the eccentric. Crafting a huge stadium ready sound, it’s impossible to fathom how it was recorded in the artists bedroom. A conceptual release, the imaginative lyricist tells a whirlwind story of a boy from the city of Reality, Luna Moonlight the heroine, and Uncertainty the Monster.
The whole EP slaps from front to back, get started with The Myth of Sisyphus now on our Best New Rock Playlist
The Wild Is Calling 