2013 was a depressing year for pop music. It was also not an amazing year for new bands, instead bringing a rich selection of great works by reliable rock music heroes like Mike Patton, Gary Numan and DeVo…hardly new blood. Meanwhile Justin Bieber announced he was retiring. What a lightweight. The goddamn Rolling Stones are still touring. With Jeff Beck. Springsteen is acting like he’s twenty again. I mean, grow a spine, Bieber. Jeesh.
You can find the Spotify playlist for this article here.
Dead Sara – Test on my Patience
(Itunes / Amazon)
Dead Sara are my favourite underdogs right now. It’s like RATM jamming with L7 in Nirvana’s tour bus, and now I can’t stop headbanging. Just amazing playing and pure, loud rock.
Fuzz – This Time I Got A Reason
(Itunes / Amazon)
The heaviest; most energetic, grooviest live band of the year, and a treat for Black Sabbath fans. Check out their live videos too.
Clutch – Earth Rocker
(Itunes / Amazon)
If you’re gonna do it, do it loud, or don’t do it at all !
Tomahawk – Oddfellows
(Itunes / Amazon)
It’s a Mike Patton project released on legendary Ipecac Recordings. Enough said.
Queens of the Stone Age – If I Had a Tail
(Itunes / Amazon)
Not my favourite QOTSA album but very impressive none the less, and check out all the videos that go with it.
Stone Sour – Do me a Favor
(Itunes / Amazon)
I’m not a big stonesour fan, but this is more than another single, it’s an epic two-album storytelling concept album project, so it gets points for creativity.
Suede – Hit Me
(Itunes / Amazon)
I was pleasantly surprised to see a new Suede album, hadn’t heard of them in a while. Turns out they can still right classy pop hits.
DeVo – On The Inside
(Itunes)
Devo – On the Inside
This was a sad year for DeVo with the passing away of drummer Alan Myers. There is no official DeVo video for the (excellent) latest album, but instead enjoy this amazing stop-motion video made by a fan and set to Blockhead (with the band’s blessing).
Gary Numan – Love Hurt Bleed
(Itunes / Amazon)
Gary Numan is the original new wave genius and goes all steampunk victorian for the promo of his new album. This single should hit home with all new wave / industrial fans.
Toybloid – Stuck In Boring City
(Itunes)
Sometimes, out of the blasé hipsteritude of the Paris rock scene clone wars, will emerge something exciting. Toybloid did not invent a new sound but should make any fan of electro-rock or riot grrrl music (like me) quite happy.
(also check out their cool video for Dancer here).
Moderat – Bad Kingdom
(Itunes / Amazon)
I hesitated to include this one as it is clearly more an electronic project than rock, but they are actually a real live band (as amazing as it sounds). This project is a collaboration between legendary duo Modselektor and Berlin producer Apparat (Sascha Ring). And the result is gorgeous. I can’t wait to see them live.