In Search of Rock

Tired of the lack of genuine rock in your life? Beginning to hate music altogether? Ever wondered if there was more to Rock & Roll? You've come to the right place. Finding new music's hard, so sit back and let us do it for you. Rock 'n' Roll's not dead, it's just living here now.

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MetalMetal

Metal

Because Metal

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Video of the Week

Band: Spiritualized

Song: “Hey Jane"

Album: Sweet Heart Sweet Light

Label: Universal/Spaceman Records

Director: AG Rojas Rock ‘n’ Roll’s not dead, it just lives here now. 

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Album of the Week

It was only a matter of time before we started doing written album reviews.  I've resisted for so long because, let's face it, music reviews these days are terrible.  Unless the writer is actively engaged in denouncing ever life-decision the artist has ever made, they just seem so superfluous.  But I want to give the written review a chance.  After all, I've always enjoyed reading Lester Bang's work.  So in the spirit of Bangs, let there be rock!  Specifically in the form of an album review of Gin Lady's self-titled release:

I hate so many aspects of today's "Indie Rock" scene.  Even excluding all the peripheral ascetics and attitudes (take an ex-girlfriends pontifications on it's superiority: "I think as you grow up you transition from genre to genre until you eventually reach Indie music."), there's so much to hate about the sound.  It's become something akin to a satire of contemporary music; as though musicians are making up lyrics on the spot, singing with that voice you only don to annoy your closest friend, hitting any random six notes on the guitar over and over in lieu of a riff, and looking around at their bandmates saying, "Can you believe it?  They're STILL listening to us."  For the longest time, I simply gave up on new music.  After being corrected on the pronounciation of "Bon Iver" ("Not Bon Iver, it's Bone Eeeverrrr") I had had enough of music altogether.

That is until i discovered Gin Lady.  Gin Lady, born out of the ashes of it's band members former group Black Bonzo, is one of the last great hopes for Rock 'n' Roll.  If The Walkmen make you want to commit vehicular manslaughter, if Purity Ring causes you to instinctively begin digging your own grave, if you've promised yourself that you would put a bullet in your head the next time Alex Scally exhales and reverbs his way through a Beach House track, then Gin Lady is the band for you.  Take the very first track off Rebirth's debut album.  The build-up echos the great power of tracks like Zeppelin's very first song, "Good Times Bad Times."  Forget bobbing, this album's a headbanger.  The raw energy reminds us what we've been missing, why we've been so depressed about the state of music today.  Listening to Gin Lady prompts a reawakening: Solid Contemporary rock exists, and we deserve better than the crap we've been sold.  Now check yourself into a hotel, crank up Gin Lady, and tear the room apart.      

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Video of the Week

Band: Black Bonzo

Song: “Lady of the Light”

Album: Lady of the Light

Label: B&B Records

Producer: Lillasyster Produkion Rock ‘n’ Roll’s not dead, it just lives here now. 

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The latest In Search of Rock playlist is here!  Push play to listen to ISoR’s choicest rock ‘n’ roll picks or subscribe to the playlist through Spotify to keep up to date with all the great contemporary rock they told you didn't exist.  Rock ‘n’ Roll’s not dead, it just lives here now.

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"The suggestion of a pyramid refers to our sound: heavy, old, and monolithic. Adding the 'black' to it references the more out there aspects of the band, the UFO and psychedelic connotations."

– Andy Beresky of Black Pyramid (interview with Neutronium Core) Rock ‘n’ Roll’s not dead, it just lives here now. 

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"Rock music back in those times was filled with the spirit of experimentation, but most musicians were still eager to write good memorable songs, and when these approaches meet each other we have masterpieces like 'In the Court of the Crimson King' or 'Sabbath Bloody Sabbath'."

– Igor Sidorenko of Stoned Jesus (interview with It's Psychedelic Baby) Rock ‘n’ Roll’s not dead, it just lives here now.    

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"We were living in Reaganomics, we were living in the threat of nuclear war. It was definitely a scary time, having someone like that in office. The Moral Majority - I mean, there were a lot of reasons to be an angry high school kid singing very pointed, political lyrics."

– Reed Mullin of Leadfoot formerly of Corrosion of Conformity (interview with Drop D) Rock ‘n’ Roll’s not dead, it just lives here now.   

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"It’s exciting, because you’re in the basement of some old house rehearsing, not a studio, and you think, 'We’ve got some fantastic material here. Sounds awesome, sounds killer. But nobody knows about it.' It’s fun. It’s like you’ve got a secret weapon you’re about to unleash."

– Michael Amott of Spiritual Beggars (interview with The Obelisk) Rock ‘n’ Roll’s not dead, it just lives here now.  

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"Greatest Misconception of the Buffalo Killers is that we’re this 70’s classic rock band. It’s sad to think that people consider rock and roll music to be of a passed time. It’s always been here. And we’re here now and we’re making music for today not for tribute."

– Andrew Gabbard of Buffalo Killers (interview with Bad Vibes) Rock ‘n’ Roll’s not dead, it just lives here now.  

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"It is as if time stood still in Sweden and we are still in the 'Golden age of rock music'. Frankly I do not mind at all. As long as there are bands daring to be so unashamedly old-fashioned like Blueback (or DeWolff in the Netherlands) there is hope."

– Jan-Simon reviews Blowback's latest album "Eight Hundred Miles" (full review at Lords of Metal) Rock ‘n’ Roll’s not dead, it just lives here now.  

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“I don’t even know why we started playing what became our Cave Singers style.  I mean, we live in a rainforest; I imagine that the natural environments have somewhat to do with it."

– Pete Quirk of The Cave Singers (interview with Redefine) Rock ‘n’ Roll’s not dead, it just lives here now.  

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Video of the Week

Band: Freedom Hawk

Song: "Stand Back"

Album: Sunlight

Label: Small Stone Records

Director: Keith Jackson Rock ‘n’ Roll’s not dead, it just lives here now.  

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What Rock are you listening to?

Tell us what contemporary Rock 'n' Roll you're listening to and we'll choose our favorite from the responses and post it on In Search of Rock along with a link to your blog!

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"We hope to make some sort of mark & re introduce kids to the way Heavy Rock used to be like and should be like: Bluesey influenced guitar leads and singing, feel, good hooks and grooves, solid drumming with a slight jazz influence with nice little fills."

– Rick Ferrante of Sasquatch (interview with Heavy Metal Time Machine) Rock ‘n’ Roll’s not dead, it just lives here now. 

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Interviewer: When was the band formed?

Joey: 18 years ago in 1993 at a veggie burrito party in which Lori stood up and yelled 'does anybody play drums?'. I replied 'I do' and the rest is history.

– Joey Osbourne of Acid King (interview with Doommantia) Rock ‘n’ Roll’s not dead, it just lives here now. 

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Apologies for the delay in posts but In Search of Rock is just revamping and brainstorming new ways to deliver you the best in Rock 'n' Roll.  For the future expect album reviews, Oldies But Goodies, best Rock music videos, and more information on who's still rockin' and where you can see them blowin' peoples minds.  

In the meantime, subscribe to the official In Search of Rock Spotify playlist to listen to the contemporary Rock they always told you didn't exist.

Rock ‘n’ Roll’s not dead, it just lives here now.