Rock enthusiast Dan Jenko continues his search to find the best new bands you’ve never heard of, as well as unveiling this week’s must-listens.

Back With A Bang: The Fray

There have been a fair few different topics flying around Unsung Rock of late, including the sad passing of R.E.M and the latest protest aiming to prevent The X Factor winner from seizing the Christmas No. 1 spot, so we’re about due another bucket-load of rock-and-roll goodness, with a selection of some of the most exciting bands looking to take the reigns as the new faces of rock music.

The first of those bands is The Fray, who have already achieved reasonable success with the likes of How To Save A Life and You Found Me. They may not be strictly in the theme of ‘unsung’ rock bands, but they’ve been away for a long old while and their return is proving an astoundingly strong one. The Fray are a band famed for their heartfelt lyrics, and new single Heartbeat showcases the band’s rare songwriting ability in such a way that it will have you counting the days until their new album (which is due for release in Feburary 2012). The Fray have created some pretty good records in the past, but if this lead single is any indication, they look set to produce an album that’s even better that their previous work.

Howler

Another band showing promise are Howler, who have a Strokes-esque sound about them, best displayed in the tracks You Like White Women, I Like Cigarettes and I Told You Once. However, they’ve already established their own unique sound and if they can replicate that style in their debut album, they could be enjoying a prosperous future. The band’s debut EP is available now for download, and although some of the tracks are a little rough around the edges there’s certainly potential here. Here’s hoping they live up to that potential, because Howler look like they have a very promising future ahead of them.

Those are the bands that have caught my attention this week, but you can expect to find all the new up-and-comers every time on Unsung Rock. For now, here are the Picks of the Week:

Nickelback – Where We Stand Together

Metal-Rockers Nickelback make their return with Where We Stand Together, which pretty much sums up the band’s strengths in its 3:12 length. The chorus is characteristically ‘massive’, but at the bare-bones the song is actually very well written. It’s a shame that they’ve become popular enough to be hated by people who think it’s cool to actively dislike bands that get ‘mainstreamed’, because they are really quite talented, and, let’s face it, one of the only real mainstream metal bands out there.

Snow Patrol – This Isn’t Everything You Are

If you’re not already excited about forthcoming album Fallen Empires then the band’s second lead single will be the clincher. It’s not diverting too much from their usual style, but presents us with another masterfully-crafted pop-inspired rock song. It’s no surprise that Snow Patrol are one of the country’s biggest bands if they produce records as good as this so consistently.

Heard any great Unsung Rock? You can e-mail Dan with your suggestion for the Picks of the Week at unsungrock@rocketmail.com, or leave your comments below.