Curated by Monk
Welcome to the first of two special back-to-back editions of the Singles Club, focusing exclusively on acts and artists from right here in the Über Kingdom of Rock ‘n’ Roll. Yes, such is the wealth of talent, and the absolute tsunami of new releases, covering almost every imaginable genre and sub-genre, from this particular corner of the Überverse that we are having to run this special feature over consecutive weekends! So, without further ado, let’s get those discs a spinning and jump straight into our eclectic playlist, shall we?
Our first destination on our whirlwind tour is Manchester, where we are heading literally at The Speed Of Sound, as the veteran progressive pop-rockers take us deep into the world of ‘Virtual Reality’ with one of a pair of songs re-imagined to mark the anniversary of the release of last year’s ‘Museum Of Tomorrow‘ opus:
We move north from the craft beer bars and gleaming tower blocks of the increasingly gentrified Manchester city centre to the historic mill town of Rochdale for our next contribution, which is three minutes of angular and aggressive post-punk from the tearaway triumvirate by the name of Tokeo:
We head back down to Manchester where we are ushered into a world of ‘Beauty And Grace’, courtesy of psych-doom/post-punk grungers Witch Fever and the latest single to be lifted from their just-released debut album. We’ve been following this quartet’s progress for a while now, and this latest offering is a declarative fulfillment of the potential we first identified back at the tail end of last year:
We’re heading north of the border now, to Glasgow in fact, where alt-rock trio Anchor Lane are addressing the twin issues of social status and associated peer pressure with the riff-tastic ‘Stutter, another exemplar of the band’s status as one of the rising stars of the NWoCR firmament:
There’s a helluva Breeze blowing in from the North Sea coastline, as the Hull indie rockers inject a welcome dose of ‘Adrenaline’ into this special playlist, with this nod to the best of Britpop era:
We traverse the north of England to another port city, this time Liverpool, where indie duo The Entire City are already looking beyond the end of 2022 and into ‘January’ with this darkly elegant slice of brooding post-punk which inflects references to the likes of My Bloody Valentine and The Cure:
We pay our first visit to the nation’s capital to drop in on alt-pop songstress Paige Kennedy, who draws inspiration from the cinema noir of David Lynch, and especially his monumental ‘Mulholland Drive’ masterpiece for this suitably dark focus on the cult of celebrity, which draws on the Kent-born artist’s eclectic mix of funk, electronic and indie influences:
We stay in London for a hefty dose of cyberpunk-influenced industrialism, courtesy of the solo project known as Binary Order, which sees musician Benjamin Blank delivering his own brand of ‘Violence’ as a sampler of his latest album, on which he will be delivering ‘Messages From The Deep‘:
A change in pace now, as prog metallers Empyre continue to set a virtually ‘Relentless’ pace to their album-tour-album-tour cycle with the title track of their new album, which is due for release at the end of March – and a very taster appetizer this is too…
We’re heading back to Manchester, where we find Pale Waves crashing over the banks of the Salford Canal. Ahead of their forthcoming run of six headline dates at the end of the month, the quartet are proving that they are far from ‘Unwanted’ with the title track of their Jase W approved and rinsed current album:
Now based in Brighton. self-styled queer punks ĠENN cite Maltese, Jamaican and Portuguese roots, and therefore it should come as now surprise that their new single is the exotically titled ‘Rohmeresse’, which draws on the influences of the various members’ backgrounds:
Did you know that there are No Windows in Edinburgh? Well, there are… but we’re not talking about an architectural oversight here, but rather a teenage duo who have been making a big noise in a relatively small timeframe, and continue to do so with the grungy ‘No Clue (Green Song)’. These kids may be relatively green, but they definitely are clued in when it comes to making musical vibes:
Our next destination is Indigo Bay – which is actually in Grimsby, as it turns out, as this indie pop combo suffer the side effects of some ‘Papercuts’ with their just-released latest slice of West Coast R’n’B-infused happiness:
We have a Hundred Reasons to celebrate next, as the Hampshire combo have just released their first new music in almost 15 years! And with the release of the title track to their long-awaited new album, due at the end of February, the band are proving that it is definitely now a ‘Glorious Sunset’ as far as their reinvigorated career is concerned (especially with a tour lined up for the Spring as well…):
InTechnicolour are about to ‘Turn It Loose’ with a run of dates in support of progressive thrash newcomers Skin Failure. It also happens to be the title of their impactful new single, which is definitely guaranteed to blow the cobwebs off the rafters:
A touch of hardcore now, and we’re bustin’ outta Borstal and screaming ‘No Surrender’ at the top of our lungs with this brutal slamdown of an aural assault:
A complete change in mood and pace, as we return to the hard rock mien, where One Last Day are bringing us ‘Out Of The Black’ and into the light with their latest offering:
We’re turning the clock back again with our penultimate offering, as London punks Nothingheads celebrate ‘3000 Years In Showbusiness’ with this playful fuzz-laden first taster of their new EP, planned for release early next year:
We’re leaving you wanting ‘More’ – and you’ll definitely be getting more of that this time next week, with the second part of this special tribute to the hottest sounds on the ÜK scene at the moment… in the meantime, we sign off with one of the hottest (and coolest) duos on the circuit, the brilliant Pearl Harts and the first taster of their first new music in three years with this country-infused slice of high octane power pop:
Well, there you have it. As I said, we’ll be back next week with another special iteration of the club, featuring more of the best UK acts and artists to have tickled our aural cortexes in recent weeks… until then, keep ‘er lit, keep ‘er between the hedges and keep on rockin’ with your favourite website \m/
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