By DJ Monk
Ding ding, the bar is open… the Singles Club is in business once again and it’s time to see what examples of the short form have been demolishing the death decks at ÜRHQ and earning a coveted stool at the bar. We had more than 100 applicants for these hard-earned spots, but the wheat has been whittled from the chaff and those deemed worthy of a sip from one of our bottles of appreciation have been selected…
(WARNING: Some of the following videos contain flashing imagery)
And we start with something a bit special, in the shape of the absolutely stunning third solo single from Kim Jennett, written by former Skin guitarist Myke Gray, in whose band she also sings. Accompanied by this beautifully shot video, ‘Unbroken’ is a brilliant demonstration of Jennett’s amazing vocal range, and it is not hard to see why she is being compared to some of the greatest female vocalists of the past 50 years. If you like what you hear, you can catch Jennett in action this summer, as she will be doing a solo show at the Waterloo Bar in Blackpool on Saturday 8 June and then on the Dogtooth stage at Download on Sunday 16 June.
Next up, we have another stunning female singer, this time in the form of Melbourne metal maiden Victoria K and ‘Lacuna’. As Victoria herself says, the single is “about the search for harmony within ourselves. Lacuna is a Latin word which means ‘missing page’ or ‘missing piece’ and the song encapsulates the feelings and thoughts involved in the search for the one thing we all feel deep down is missing from ourselves”.
Next, we didn’t have any trouble Finding Kate as the London-based singer courteously sent us her luscious new single – her first new material in more than three years. And, she has not need to feel bad about doing so, as it is a wonderful tune… well, it it’s been invited to pull up a coveted Singles Club bar stool, so it would have to be, wouldn’t it? Kate will officially launch the single with a gig at The Monarch this Friday (17 May).
Some old school headbanging action next, courtesy of Spanish hard rockers Broken Lingerie and their bruising new offering ‘My Disease’, a single which is very much in the tradition of the likes of Girlschool and Rock Goddess in terms of its no nonsense approach. The accompanying video is a very suitable in-studio play-through affair, which emphasizes the power of the song and the attitude of its protagonists:
The women seem to be taking over this edition of the Singles Club as, just two weeks after their last appearance, Seattle pop punks Tacocat are at it again, taking us to a ‘New World’ with the fourth track to be lifted from their new album, the agenda-challenging ‘This Mess is A Place’, just released through Sub Pop.
We stay with the Sub Pop label for our next choice, and it’s this catchy slice of garage power pop from Kyle Craft And Showboat Honey, who tell us that they’re ‘2 Ugly 4 NY’. Well, we can’t comment on Mr Craft’s looks, as he’s covered in make-up as his corpse-faced busker takes us on a day trip around the Big Apple, but the song itself is a catch-as-fuck earworm that bodes well for the album when it lands in July:
We stay on the road as we take a death ‘n’ roll journey to and from hell in the company of ‘Lucifer’ himself and the title track from the new album from the might Jesus Chrüsler Supercar, who rip up the asphalt with the amps turned to 11 and the attitude dial turn to “fuck you if you don’t like it”! Fortunately, we love it and can’t wait to strap ourselves in for the Swedes’ latest dose of rock ‘n’ roll misadventures, which is unleashed on the Überverse latter this merry month of May:
Next up, we’d like to introduce you to New Jersey punk crüe Prince Daddy & The Hyena and ‘Lauren’, the lead single from their forthcoming new album, ‘Cosmic Thrill Seekers’ – a concept work about both mental health and Dorothy from ‘The Wizard Of Oz’ (although, unfortunately, there doesn’t seem to be a cover of ‘Somewhere Over The Rainbow’)! The album comes out on Big Scary Monsters on 28 June.
Next up, Irish punks Fangclub have just this past week been confirmed to open for Metallica at their massive Slane Castle show on Saturday 8 June – and to celebrate they have released ‘Hesitations’, taken from their as-yet unfinished second album. The song is accompanied by this claustrophobic video, which saw the Dublin three-piece trapped inside a mirror box for 12 hours while a crowd of “gold walkers” attempted to smash their way in:
Staying on the island of Ireland, we move north of the border to ÜR’s home base of Belfast, and the heaviest single on offer this time around, as hardcore merchants THVS share their ‘Neon Demons’. Recorded at two recent shows, the accompanying video (which does contain rapidly flashing lights) captures the energy of this rapidly rising young band, who play the NI Grand Final of the Bloodstock Metal 2 The Masses competition this coming Friday (17 May):
Across the Irish Sea to the south west of England now, where we meet Leeches, who bring us their surprisingy upbeat ‘Flowers In The Garden’. I say surprisingly, because the song is born out of the trio’s frustration at how little there is actually to do in their native Dorset, as they expound “nothing ever happens”… well, what is happening is this nice slice of whimsical, psychedelic power pop:
More punk rock fury now with ‘Love You Wrong’, the single from Sumo Cyco, released just in time for their forthcoming run of British dates, which culminate in their debut appearance at the Download Festival, on the Avalanche Stage on the Friday (14 June). Directed by singer Skye ‘Sever’ Sweetnam, the accompanying video has a sort of ‘Resident Evil’ meets ‘Evil Dead’ feel to its dramatic sections. Sumo Cyco have just launched a crowd-funding campaign for their third album, having decided to forego the PledgeMusic route they followed for its predecessor, ‘Opus Mars’.
Some Porn now… no, that kind you dirty minded lot, but ‘Last Of A Million’, the new single by the French gothic metal/industrial rockers. The song is about “the end of everything: the end of life, the end of love, the end and the death of another you” and is taken from their current album, ‘The Darkest Of Human Desires – Act I’, itself the second in a trilogy of thematically-released albums. ‘Last Of A Million’ also comes with two remixes – a dance version by French industrial rockers Heartlay, and a hard rock interpretation by Ukraine’s Entropy Zero:
By complete contrast, Finland alt-groovers Coochilla offer us some regretful gothic noir noise with their delightful new single, ‘Don’t Feel Like Dancing Anymore’, which somehow manages to meld melancholia and joyousness into a seamless blend of infectious rock ‘n’ roll:
Next up, we find ourselves in a TV Coma, thanks to the self-described St Albans “merry makers and noise makers” of the same name, who declare themselves ‘Unemployabe’ on their new single – and, no, we wouldn’t give them a job either – which is taken from their new EP, Body Negativity’, due to be released at the end of the month:
Erstwhile ÜR faves IDLES don’t officially release their new single, ‘Mercedes Marxist’, in physical form until 2 August, but are streaming it nice and early. It’s extracted from their brilliant, and ÜR-approved, album, ‘Joy As An Act Of Resistance’, and will come with another previously unreleased track, ‘I Dream Guillotine’. There’s not much we can add – except to recommend that you get your pre-order in fast…
Finally, for this edition of the Singles Club, we were impressed by this debut single from Ontario punk crue Pink Leather Jackets. Despite the crimefighting/superhero look to the accompanying video, the single is actually about infidelity… go figure. Whatever, it’s a pleasant little ditty with an infectious chorus and a neat hook, and it certainly got the toes tapping here at ÜRHQ:
So, there you have, it another edition of the Singles Club, packed with plenty of good tuneage to wrap your ears around and explore further. Until the next time… keep ‘er and keep ‘er between the hedges \m/