The Band’s Robbie Robertson left the world today. He was a true legend, and along with Gram Parsons, Chris Hillman and Bernie Leadon, a man who could probably claim to have laid the foundations for country rock. The Band’s rootsy sound and image was completely out of step with the psychedelic scene in which they first found fame, but Robertson’s songwriting – along with that of bandmates Rick Danko and Richard Manuel – had a timeless quality that will outlive everyone. His songs had heart, and often a massive sense of narrative, and his gift for a great melody carried right through a career spanning several decades.
PROTON PACKS – The Concept Of Infinity / Psychokenesis
In 2018, Italian punks Proton Packs contributed a couple of tracks to an excellent split EP with fellow Italians The Livermores which acted as a superb primer for both bands. The Livermores had already started to gain traction with their Ramones obsessed sound, but for a lot of people in the UK and the US, that split provided a superb introduction to their space-obsessed friends.
Throughout the tricky years that followed, Proton Packs weren’t especially prolific by “usual” punk band standards, but they trucked on, and their subsequent full length release ‘Paradox’ cemented their obsessions with old Ramones riffs, b movies and cheap sci-fi. It was a great record; however, it still wasn’t enough for them to get the regular name checks alongside The Apers, The Manges and Mega they so deserved.
KING KOBRA – We Are Warriors
When it comes to consistency and quality, a new record from King Kobra doesn’t come with any guarantees. Their 1984 debut is a fun melodic metal affair, and its timely delivered follow up ‘Thrill of A Lifetime’ is a decent melodic rock LP, but beyond that, their catalogue is largely pretty bad. 1988’s ‘King Kobra III’ is loaded with tuneless metal fare that’s blighted further by terrible vocals from Johnny Edwards (a poor substitute for the absent Mark Free), and the band’s first two reunion albums (2011’s ‘King Kobra’ and 2013’s ‘King Kobra II’) are heavily weighted towards party metal workouts full of really embarrassing and clichéd lyrics.
STREETLIGHT – Ignition
Fashion be damned! Swedish melodic rockers Streetlight champion a very commercial blend of AOR and melodic rock on their 2023 album ‘Ignition’. Capturing a perfect sound that celebrates some of the scene’s greatest bands and influences from those 1987-89 glory days, it’s an album packed with massive choruses, but comes with an even bigger concession to brilliantly played, shiny sounding keyboards. There are few musical surprises, but a whole world of giant hooks will ensure lovers of old school AOR will find a near instant liking of the Streetlight sound.
FRED ABONG – Fear Pageant
Although he’ll be best known to most people as an ex-member of Throwing Muses and Belly, singer-songwriter/multi-instrumentalist Fred Abong has carved out a solo career exploring some interesting lo-fi sounds. On the ‘Homeless’ and ‘Pulsing’ EPs, he introduced audiences to his minimal approach to arrangement, and with just voice and electric guitar, the best material contrasted angular noises and introspective lyrics on tunes that sometimes felt like audio sketches. Although strong on record, these tunes really sprung to life in the live setting, but every artist needs to move forward, and by the time of 2022’s ‘Yellowthroat’, his recordings had expanded to include mellotron, piano extra vocals and felt altogether warmer without losing focus of his lo-fi signature sound.