The Über Rock Singles Club – December (Deci)bells Part Two

Curated by Monk

Well, here we are nearing ever closer to the end of another hectic rock ‘n’ roll year which once again has proven that, despite what the attention-seeking headline-grabbers may naysay, the genre in all its myriad formats and shades is very much alive and kicking, if not in better shape than ever. So, with that in mind, we’re opening up the Club for the second time in as many weeks, setting the volume controls to “fuck the neighbours” levels of decibel(l)s and starting the deathdecks a spinning with another eclectic selection for your aural delectation…

Bridear ‘Brave Words’ (Psychomantum Records)

There’s definitely something in the rice wine that has seen Japan producing some extremely impressive all-female metal bands in recent years, and these are the latest exemplar, providing us with an indication of what we can expect from next year’s headline tour with this second single from their ‘Born Again’ album:

Cell Games ‘Witches & Bitches’ (Self-Released)

Taking its influence from a conversation overheard on Dublin’s Luas public transport system, this acerbic, forked-tongue-in-cheek ‘banger presents nu-metal as an unlikely champion of feminism and tent-pole for equal rights:

Chase Nova ‘Beg For It Back’ (Self-Released)

These Dubliners blended jazz-infused rock arrangements with hip-hop and r’n’b-inspired vocal theatricality to berate the ever-worsening socio-economic situation in their home city with their first new music since the release of their debut album. ‘The Sobering Fact’:

Dead Meadow ‘The Space Meadow’ (Heavy Psych Sounds)

Their upcoming tenth studio album is something of a closing of a chapter in the 26-year long career of these heavy psych progenitors, as it features their final recordings with lates bassist Steve Kille, who lost his battle with cancer earlier this year:

Dead Pony ‘Everything Burns’ (Self-Released)

Despite their best appeals for us to do so, it’s been virtually impossible to ignore this Glaswegian alt-rock quartet since the release of their debut album at the beginning of the year, and they round off their hectic schedule with this fiery slice of comic book-inspired punk ‘n’ roll mayhem:

Delilah Bon ‘Not The President’ (Self-Released)

We’ve quite a few powerful female voices in this week’s playlist, and there are few more powerful than Lauren Tate, who displays softer, more vulnerable side with this reaction to the recent US Presidential election with a song she describes as “about hope and belonging in a world that feels like it’s taking a hundred steps backward”:

eie ‘Because’ (Apollon Records)

From an established female voice to a strident new one, with this single from this Norwegian singer who has plenty to say for herself, and her fellow women, and does so extremely effectively and impressively with this argumentative commentary on rape culture and victim shaming:

Envy Of None ‘Under The Stars’ (Self-Released)

This may be new name to many, as may that of singer Maiah Wynne, but there is no doubting the pedigree of the musicians involved, as the project sees Rush legend Alex Lifeson emerging back into the spotlight with the help of former Coney Hatch members Andy Curran, Alf Annibalini and Randy Cooke:

Ghostwood ‘Wake Up’ (Self-Released)

I know very little more about this Russian symphonic metal outfit, whom I discovered on one of my regular YouTube trawls, other than they are Russian and play symphonic metal, and that is all there is to say, really, apart from this is a decent earworm of a tune:

Gypsy Pistoleros ‘Shadow Walker’ (Earache Records)

Our favourite renegade, flamenco glunksters will be inviting us to join their very own church – a movement for the bold, unconventional and outcast – when they release their new album next year. In the meantime, we are talking a walk in the shadows with this transformative, poignant tale of humanity’s destruction of nature, told through the eyes of an immortal Changeling, who with ageless wisdom and a disdain for mankind’s environmental sins narrates an eternal journey through shadows, reflecting on humanity’s fleeting existence and its impact on the Earth.

Heathcliff ‘Mirror, Mirror, Fuck You All’ (SBÄM/Double Helix Records/Pee Records/Bearded Punk Records)

These German skate punks waste absolutely no time in delivering their message and telling us what they mean with this reworking of a song that is actually 25 years old but has been refurbished to suit the modern era while retaining its original HxC roots on the first taster of their upcoming new album, due in March:

Jessie James ‘Rise And Shine’ (Thousand Islands Records)

This Montreal mother of four has left it comparatively late in life to release her first ever single, but draws on that lifetime of experience to speak of love, resilience and hope as she rediscovers her love of punk music, fusing it with folk-infused poetry, after a career as a visual artist:

Monobloc ‘Take Me’ (Self-Released)

This New York post-punk outfit may be only four singles into their career, but they certainly have a pedigree on which to build, as the band is built around the core of DIY scene veterans Timothy Waldron and Michael Silverglade, who will perhaps be better known to the wider world as the creators and curators of the viral Minecraft music festival Block By Blockwest:

Octoploid ‘Coast Of The Drowned Sailors’ (Reigning Phoeinix Music)

Fronted by bassist Olli-Pekka “Oppu” Laine (known for his work with Amorphis, Barren Earth and Mannhai), this latest single offering from these ‘70s-inspired Finnish progressive death dealers features guest vocal performances from Amorphis’ Tomi Koivusaari and Jani “Joãnitor” Muurinen of XYSMA:

Pothamus ’Zhikarta’ (Pelagic Records)

The Belgian psychedelic sludgers set the scene for their second album, ‘Abur’, which is due for release in February, with suitably heavy slice of spiritualism:

Reba Meyers ‘Certain Uncertainty’ (Self-Released)

This is the declarative debut offering from the Code Orange guitarist who is branching out and finding her own defiant voice with intent and purpose:

The DSM IV ‘Wise Guy’ (9×9 Records)

This Liverpool alt-goth trio, fronted by former Eighties Matchbox B-Line Disaster mainman Guy McKnight, serve up the first taster from their new EP, the follow-up to this year’s debut full-lengther, and are prepping for a run of headline dates early in the new year:

The Royal ‘Monochrome’ (Self-Released)

This Dutch metalcore combo first featured in these pages a full five years ago, and now come storming back with another impressive and impressionistic taster of their upcoming new album, due for release sometime in the first half of next year:

Tumbleweed Dealer ‘Dark Green’ (Self-Released)

The title track of the upcoming fourth album from these Montreal psychedelic blues-infused proggies features guest appearances from saxophonist Zach Strouse of Rivers Of Nihil/Burial In The Sky and keyboardist Antoine Baril of Augury/Obliveon:

Usquam ‘Ego Sum (Qui Sum)’ (Source Atone Records)

Two more strident female voices round off this week’s playlist, as these French blackened metallers declare their individuality with their blend of BM, DM, doom and post-metal combined with lyrics delivered in English and Latin as well as their native tongue with this second taster of their upcoming debut full-length album, due at the end of January:

Vukovi ‘Sno’ (SharpTone Records)

Seemingly one of the hardest working bands in the Überverse, this gothic alt-rock duo round off 2024 the way they intend to start off 2025 – by releasing new music and then heading straight back out on the road. This is the latest sample of their upcoming new album, the brilliantly titled ‘My God Has Got A Gun‘, the release of which at the end of January we are particularly awaiting here at ÜRHQ:

So, there you have it: another eclectic playlist rammed with favourites old and new. We’ll be back next week with a special festive selection, and then we have one more full edition of the Club before we kiss the year that has been 2024 goodbye and kick its ass out the fire escape… until then, keep ‘er lit, keep ‘er between the hedges and keep onÜber rockin’ in the free world with our daily selections \m/