From the grudge of the UK rock mafia to the hip-hop influence into the alternative punk scene of the US, let’s take a look at what’s new in rock …
A lot of rock right now is not really in the sense of the word rock, anymore – certainly not with classic rock, that’s for sure.
The new stuff is either compartmental divisions of dirty punk or psychedelic electro-waves of noise with influences of hip-hop. You’ve got the familiar favourites shame, Lonely The Brave, You Me At Six, Royal Blood and Black Honey keeping it classy, but then you’ve got these subtle subversions that are creeping up on us. Which is very American influenced, I must say. You can kind of see this rise since Machine Gun Kelly’s punky album blew up, and everyone has jumped on the band-bandwagon since. I’ve had a look at some of my key favourites.
Grandson 
Bad Nerves 
Kenny Hoopla + Travis Barker 
Cleopatrick 
Royal Blood 
nothing, nowhere
Grandson
Grandson‘s approach to the rock throne is with, We Did It!!! which combines electronic and hip-hop into a glorified version of sheer rock oddity, and it is certainly different compared to what’s in the rest of the list.
It seems that a lot of attention is being drawn to a somewhat rustic and punky voice that is neither here or there with it. Other associations like Yungblud and Kenny Hoopla spring to mind who use their voices like this a lot – guess it’s very on brand to the music they create?
Bad Nerves
Fast and albeit flashy, Bad Nerves‘ Terminal Boy is a frantic beauty. Aptly named as, ‘the bastard child of a Ramones/Strokes one night stand’ have coerced themselves into an explosive future, certainly since the release of their eponymous EP.
Cleopatrick
Cleopatrick’s deceptively dirty style is soon becoming the defining nature of UK rock mafia, and I’m ok with that. It certainly fits the bill as rock more so than what Yungblud and Grandson are trying to achieve. GOOD GRIEF? Good grief it’s brilliant!
Kenny Hoopla
With Machine Gun Kelly, Kenny Hoopla, nothing, nowhere (I would recommend Fake Friend from him) and Travis Barker running the same circles, they have made incessant collaborations between one another.
Kenny Hoopla‘s quick thrash in ESTELLA, with Barker providing the thump adds to the pile of artists reclaiming the need and desire for making punk music for us all. Travis is also trying his bit, too, because let’s be honest, Blink ain’t doing it anymore.
Travis Barker (and those beats)
Travis Barker has also teamed up with emo-throwbacks Escape the Fate with Not My Problem and jxdn with Tonight, where you can hear those hip-hop influenced trash beats that are clawing their way into the punk/rock scenes, giving it an unprecedented feel to how we’ve heard these genres in the past. Of course, this is nothing new we’ve heard of per se, as the likes of Limp Bizkit have been done there and done that, but it has a feeling of coming back, that’s for sure.
Hip hop trash beats are clawing their way into the punk/rock scenes, giving it an unprecedented feel to how we’ve heard these genres in the past.
You can take a gander at my honest review about MGK’s return to the punk scene with Tickets to my Downfall, if you like. (I mean, only if you really want to.)
The RANGE in Rock
Where you’ve got the UK rock stabs of Cleopatrick, shame, Bad Nerves and Royal Blood back for the third … (view Royal Blood’s music evolution here)
… and you’ve got the alternative US spunk-punk scene bringing their eclectic taste and hip-hop influence with POORSTACY, Kenny Hoopla, nothing, nowhere and Machine Gun Kelly (who all seemingly only hire one drummer of Travis Barker) …
… everyone seems to be forgetting the female-fronted rock collectives that are leading the pack. Dream State with Monsters and Against the Current with that won’t save us are absolute corkers that complement the sounds of the old and the new amazingly well.
Whether or not it’s your bag though, better keep up with it, because you’re in for a crazy ride.
mvm. 
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