The best kept secret in Britrock today? Quite possibly. Now on their fourth album, "Nobody Knows" saw the LP3 remind us all exactly why they're such a damn good band. Tight and focused garage rock (with the odd '60s psychedelic moment thrown in) this is retro rock with power, enthusiasm and some damn fine tunes and riffs (check out the video for "Swing Like A Monkey" below for proof). The anti-Black Stone Cherry if you like and, really, what more a recommendation do you need?
4. THE BERMONDSEY JOYRIDERS - "Flamboyant Thugs"
The Bermondsey Joyriders' third album was everything you'd want from them at this stage - a good reminder of what they're capable of with some cracking tunes into the bargain. Veering from the spit 'n' sawdust rock 'n' roll of opener "Sonic Underground" through the sly humour of "It's Nice To Be Important" to the epic political closer of "The Message" (which you can listen to below), this was proof positive that the Bermondsey Joyriders were still out there and with plenty to say in 2014.
3. SILVER SUN - "A Lick And A Promise"
Yes, this technically came out in 2013 but sod it, it got that badly publicised at the time that I didn't even hear it until this summer so it's going in here. And the fact that it got released with hardly a peep was criminal if you ask me because this was arguably Silver Sun's best album since their debut - stadium sized glam rock anthems with a deceptively warped undercurrent bubbling away beneath (check out the glam-synth rock of "She's With The Band" below). Go check it out now and get it the listens it deserves.
2. KORY CLARKE - "Payback's A Bitch"
Quite simply, no-one was expecting this. Although lyrically "Payback's A Bitch" was just as sharp as anything Kory's done with Warrior Soul, musically it saw him turning his hand to every genre from lonesome country rock through Pleasures-style German Eurodisco and Quireboys style bar room blues (take a listen to "The Last Hand" below) to the beautiful epic closer "Meet Me In Las Vegas" and carry it all off with style and panache. You really need to add this one to your CD/mp3 collection now if you've not done so already.
1. ELECTRIC RIVER - "The Faith And The Patience"
It could only be this one really. Electric River's second album saw them well and truly outgrow their ska-punk past to create a truly incendiary album which veered from the sheer joie de vivre of "Keep The Engine Burning" (video below) to the smalltown blues of "This Garden Will Grow". While there's plenty of political fire on the likes of "The Fixer" and "Leap Of Faith", the message is always that there's a light at the end of the tunnel no matter how dark it may seem as evidenced on "Queen Of Hearts" and the quite lovely closer "Water Song". Quite simply, this is a document of our time in 2014 and doesn't have a weak track on it and that's why it's top of my pile this year. And the fact that Electric River can hopefully only keep getting better from here should hopefully mean that by the time of their next album they should deservedly be a group firmly in the national spotlight.
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