Finally – some new rock n’ roll! Not exactly new, but new to me and within the last five years so it makes the cut. It’s nearly the end of the year and the lists are starting to appear. On Yahoo, I saw some guy’s “10 Best Albums” of 2008. Two bands I didn’t know – The Constantines and The Hold Steady – were on it, with the critic raving about them being “sons of Springsteen”. So – fearing the worst – I sampled them out on iTunes.

The hyperbole was off base but the bands are the real thing.

For The Constantines, I picked up Shine A Light and Tournament Of Hearts. Think of them as the Kings Of Leon’s moody younger brother or – more to the point – the angry sons of the Replacements. Shine is considered their best so far. Raw, edgy and passionate, it roars at you from the first tune “National Hum” and doesn’t hold back. By the time you get to the expansive “Young Lions” halfway through – you’ll be hooked. Tournament keeps up the pace but gets a bit more melodic and lead singer Bryan Webb brings his lyrics up front. The passion and the grit are still there, especially on “Draw Us Lines” and “Soon Enough”. The new record – Kensington Heights – is slightly more accessible with some great tunes, such as “Credit River”. Bass, drums, guitar and the occasional organ or piano – this is straight up and unpretentious. It will reward on further listening and these guys are probably killer in concert.

The Hold Steady is a different beast cut from the same cloth. Here I snagged Boy And Girls In America and the new one, Stay Positive. For these guys, I liked them right off – probably because they sound so familiar. The band is a feisty bunch of smart-asses who wear their influences – not just on the sleeves – but all the way through to their underwear. That organ riff is pure Tom Petty. That guitar lick sounds like Thin Lizzy. Is that a line from the Sweet or Billy Joel? Sure – why not? Does it really matter what they are borrowing when it sounds so damn good? Front man Craig Finn is less a singer then he is Master of Ceremonies – closer to Shane McGowan than he will ever be to Springsteen. I can see him on stage with a cigarette in the mic stand, a pint in his hand and leering at numerous girls in the crowd, spitting out words upon words of his travels and debaucheries. Check out tunes like “Stuck Between Stations”, “Sequestered In Memphis” or “Your Little Hoodrat Friend” and tell me those aren’t fun. Go on – I dare you.

This is American Rock ‘n Roll (even if The Constantines are from Toronto). Blue collar and hard at work. Sweating it out in the clubs. In a world where people think Coldplay and David Cook (ech!) are “rock” artists, let’s clean those pipes and dig back in our memories to what rock was supposed to be. These guys are proof that you don’t have to be stuck with the oldies stations.

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