The Uber Rock Singles Club
Written by Johnny H
Sunday, 22 January 2012 05:45
Proving that our club of 7″ loving audiophiles is now turning into a fast growing global gathering we kick off our third meeting with a 3 tracker from Italian garage punks The Dancers which was apparently originally released back in July 2011.
Please don’t let the sleeve on this single fool you, as despite the cut and paste bear/human artwork screaming arty indie from every pore, this three piece from Venice actually play the type of bluesy punk that made The Hives worldwide rock stars and Randy underground heroes. Lead track ‘Love Weapon’ has a fabulously flat vocal delivery and even though it does slightly stray off into the Libertines or Arctic Monkeys territory at times the music on offer really is bristling guitar pop of the highest order. Stand out track here for me is single B side ‘Out Of Me’ which slows things down slightly and boasts a hook good enough to grace any Buzzcocks record. As this single has been out for a good while now, The Dancers have actually decided to give a digital download away to all you lucky Uber Rockers, and you can pick this up here.
Up next, and at the risk of turning this feature into The Old Firm Casuals Singles Club we have two new discs of delight from Lars Fredericksen and his skunk rocking chums Casey Watson and Paul Rivas.
Released on multiple coloured vinyl options just before Christmas via Oi The Boat ‘Army Of One’ continues our heroes’ crusade to single-handedly take over the Oi! scene, and whilst the A side will have skinheads worldwide wiping a nostalgic tear from their eyes (well the ones that aren’t tattooed on), B side ‘Bloodsucker’ owes more than just a nod to Lars’s other bunch of bastards coming on equal parts G.B.H and Motorhead. The final track on this fine addition to the Casuals singles repertoire is a track called ‘The Rabble’ and this fired up slice of streetpunk will have you wondering what Rancid’s new stuff will sound like as it’s short, sharp and catchy as fuck.
The second of these two releases is The Old Firm Casuals split single with German mob Insane Dogs released via Randale Records. Each band gets two songs per side on the ‘Them Against Us’ EP, which just like ‘Army Of One’ comes pressed on a variety of different colours. My tasteful blue and white splatter platter dazzled me so much that I was halfway into the lead Casuals track ‘The Wire’ playing it at 33 1/3 rpm before I realised it should have been spinning at 45 rpm. Yup you’ve guessed it this is uptempo stomping streetpunk all the way, and along with second track ‘Death Dealers’ perhaps the most full on of all The Old Firm Casuals releases to date. Flip this baby over and we get Insane Dogs plying their trade in their mother tongue, and whilst I haven’t got the foggiest idea what ‘Schuldig’ or ‘Paradies In Flammen’ are really about, this is still well produced, well played stuff that fair motors along, especially on the second track.
With all these Old Firm Casuals 7″ers lying around URHQ I think it’s about time we broke open a seal on a TDK C60 and constructed our very own version of the long overdue debut album from these guys, don’t you? Home taping is killing music my arse…
Another album that can’t grace the Uber Rock death deck quickly enough will be the debut long player from Nottingham’s gothabilly kings Dick Venom & The Terrortones. So whilst the band’s tasty debut double A side single out via Jailhouse Morgue Records in late February isn’t actually available on vinyl we’re more than willing to turn a bonk eye to that fact as ‘RockinRollin’ VampireMan’ is as fantastic a slice of twisted psychobilly with the faintest odour of decaying Manson you’ll find anywhere in the world today. From the single’s grisly graphic novel artwork to the band’s gothic Heartbreakers meets The Cramps sound everything about this release screams class, and mark my words after just one fiendish spin you’ll be hankering for a “Bite!” Bring on the album fuckers as we can’t wait for some more of your ‘Sticky Pants Trance’.
Also wearing their John Anthony Genzale Jnr influences on their sleeves (quite literally in this case) are Leeds punk rockers Cyanide Pills, with their awesomely titled ‘Johnny Thunders Lived in Leeds’ 7″. Back for their second Singles Club in a row these guys may be Yorkshire men not New York junkies but someone obviously forgot to tell them this when they were penning this tune, which is as dirty as the Dolls yet wickedly humorous just the same. Pressed on yellow vinyl and released via Wanda Records the B side is ‘She’s So Shallow’ from the Pills superb 2010 debut album. With their excellent ‘Up Against The Wall’ single and now this wonderful ode to all things JT under their belts (pyramid studded of course), Cyanide Pills look like being yet another band that will feature regularly in our 2012 most listened playlist.
Last up we have another double offering of 7″er’s, and this time it comes with a side order of sleaze, thanks to our fave new band from Los Angeles JJ & The Real Jerks. Following my rave review of the band’s ‘High Anxiety Society’ 7″ back in the inaugural Single Club feature, JJ took the time to pen me a “thank you” letter that also included a copy of not only his band’s latest 7″ single ‘The Wringer’ but also a copy of their rare a hell debut 7″ ‘The Future Is Now…(And It Stinks)’.
Released at the tail end of 2011 on Rankoutsider Records ‘The Wringer’ continues where the last EP left off, chock full of Uber approved guitar chops, honky tonk piano (once again provided by Greg Kuehn) and a smooth saxophone that almost makes you forget this is produced by Bradley Cook (of Dwarves, D Generation, QOTSA knob twiddling fame). B side ‘Shootin’ From The Hip’ is a more straight forward up tempo rock ‘n’ roll affair, and it is this track that sees The Real Jerks reversing their tour bus into the space normally reserved for The Chelsea Smiles on the URHQ death deck.
As the band’s debut ‘The Future Is Now…(And It Stinks)’ was originally released back in June 2010 I’m not exactly sure how many of the 100 copies (pressed on god only knows what colour glow in the dark vinyl and released via Kung Pao Chicken Pickin’ Records) are still available, but I simply cannot let this stonking single go unnoticed by the Uber Rock massive. The single’s lead track once again sounds like our old pal from Jendell has gone and done a runner from his one time day job, but this time he’s joined eighties UK glammers Silverwing for a riotous slab of streetwalkin’ punk rock ‘n’ roll, and it’s simply immense!!!! Trust me your creepers will be tapping all the way through this bad boy. I really cannot recommend JJ & The Real Jerks highly enough, so click on the hyperlink above and make the guys very happy indeed by ordering their damn fine singles.
Until the next time boys and girls, keep them death decks spinning.