By Monk
There can be no doubt that one of THE buzz phrases of the past decade or so has been “new wave of classic rock”, which in turn seems to have evolved into something of a descriptive for an entire sub-genre, albeit one which encompasses a wide variety of musical styles, but all linked by one common factor, that being the mutual love of “classic rock” in all its myriad styles – even though this new generic denominator could be seen to be very much dominated by bands operating within the British blues rock revivalist mien.
The profile of the NWoCR “movement” has been very much championed by an extremely dedicated and vibrant Facebook group, set up by fans for fans, which has been totally selfless in its flying of flag of young (and sometimes not so young) artists flying the flag for good old-fashioned rock ‘n’f’n’ roll and their determination to prove that, despite the continued protestations of multi-millionaire has-beens who have built mansions on the backs of the hard-earned dollars of their fans, the artform is not dead, but rather from it… One of the attractions of the group is that it encourages positive discussion and promotion of new young bands, alongside more established acts, often plugging new releases long before the rest of us media types have picked up on them… personally, we at ÜRHQ have found it to be an invaluable resource, as many of the artists involved cannot afford the luxuries of PR machines and therefore could well slip under the radar of many less discerning and exploratory websites…
Now, following on from a series of weekly webcasts hosted during the various lockdowns, the NWoCR team have taken the next logical step, by pulling together this positively epic double CD compilation of 42 of the hottest sounds this particular mien has to offer, and covering most of its disparate bases in the process. The vast majority of the acts will need absolutely no introduction to regular ÜR readers, as many of them have featured in these pages more often than our pet wolf shits in DQ’s precious flowerbeds. It is a “who’s who” of the genre and its prime proponents, from Massive Wagons – who teamed up with a whole host of the other featured artists for a superb reworking of their crowd-pleasing anthem ‘Tokyo’ – and Anchor Lane to Scarlett Rebels and The New Roses, SKAM and Bad Touch to Häxan and Blackwater Conspiracy, thus presenting us with a timely snapshot of the NWoCR scene as it stands…
Having said that, there are a few surprises in the package, the most pleasing of which definitely is the first ever released recording from The Hot Damn, the new band formed out of the ashes of The Amorettes and Tequila Mockingbyrd, who definitely will have you dancing around (sic) your stereo system with their catchy-as-a-dose debut. And the curators definitely don’t shy away from the extremities of the NWoCR classification, including the lilting blues of Elles Bailey alongside the NOLA-esque stomp of Empyre, the southern rock grooves of Sons Of Liberty and the tongue-in-cheek cowpunk of Bootyard Bandits, the glam-slam of Collateral and Twister counterpointing with the stoner grunt of Dig Lazarus, the massive riffology of King Creature, the gutter-guitar groove of Rews and the cinematic gothic noir of Ward XVI.
The NWoCR team did come in for some criticism when the tracklisting for this compilation was first announced, with accusations of “the usual suspects” and the like being bandied about. But you have to bear in mind that there are multiple factors at play when it comes to putting together a project such as this, not least what songs the bands, and their publishers/record companies, are prepared to release for inclusion on what is basically a by-fans-for-fans not-for-profit exercise, which is emphasized by the fact that every band was paid an upfront fee and each will receive a percentage of the proceeds, with the compilers not taking a penny from the sales. Therefore, such criticisms are niggling in the extreme, as what the team have succeeded in doing is pulling together a collection of songs which accurately reflects and showcases what is happening on the NWoCR scene… and, as its title very clearly indicates, this is ‘Volume One’, so there’s obviously plenty more tunes in the NWoCR jukebox. If that’s the case, we’re saving up all our change to get the next bunch of songs pumping and bothering the staff at our newly re-opened local…