Since the release of their 2019 EP, JATK – a band featuring Matt Jatkola and a revolving cast of friends – has slowly built a solid online following. A series of digital singles released throughout the lockdowns of 2020 and ’21 showcased some great and fuzzy, retro rock music, but also seemed unafraid to throw a few pop influences into the mix. This showed a band who were keen to avoid easy labelling; a band starting out on an adventurous path, and a band who had the potential to deliver a rich and varied full length release somewhere down the track. Simply put, JATK quickly marked themselves out as a very cool collective.
THE YEAH YOU RIGHTS – Lucy Anna EP
If you took the distorted hard rock of Blue Cheer, the garage rock noise of the Fucktons and applied a country drawl in the vocal department, chances are you’d end up with something that sounds a bit like The Yeah You Rights. On their 2019 release ‘Lucy Anna’ this Louisiana duo mix things up with regards to a retro noise, and while the results don’t always lead to the easiest of listens, more than half the time, their sense of drive makes up for any melodic shortcomings.
GENTLEMEN ROGUES – Francy / I’ve Got A Match
As a particularly troubled 2020 began to draw to a close, US retro rockers Gentlemen Rogues released ‘Do The Resurrection!’, a brilliant single that blended various 90s rock influences with a few Thin Lizzy-esque guitar parts, creating an almost timeless number that was massive on both riffs and hooks. Having reeled in various listeners, its flip side was arguably even better. By mixing elements of Lemonheads, Superdrag and My Bloody Valentine tracks, ‘Bloody Rudderless In Ursa Major’ raised the bar in terms of how to construct a brilliant and inventive medley. It was definitely the kind of release that left listeners wanting more…but the band appeared to go into hiding, and 2021 came and went without even a whisper from the Rogues’ camp.
Elton John’s classic 1971 album ‘Madman Across The Water’ to get deluxe box set treatment
Elton John’s fourth album ‘Madman Across The Water’ is something of a fan favourite. The 1971 release didn’t score Elton any UK hits at the time, and beyond ‘Tiny Dancer’, most of its songs are largely unknown outside of his fan base, and yet the album has endured the decades. If anything, it’s found itself sounding better with each passing year.
PYRESHIP – Light Is A Barrier
As far as most people will be concerned, Pyreship first appeared on the sludge metal scene in 2017 when their ‘Liars Bend Low’ album appeared on Bandcamp. Its five murky sounding tracks immediately signified the band as masters of some of the dirtiest riffs, but for those paying closer attention, the material also suggested a keen interest in wandering, dark atmospherics which – in the hands of talented musicians – might just take their uncompromising noise into more interesting places in the future.