The Uber Rock Singles Club – March 2014
Written by Dom Daley
Sunday, 09 March 2014 03:20
Flying solo for this meeting of the Uber Rock Singles Club like some sort of runaway glunk rock train there is no holding back the tide of 7″ singles getting early 2014 releases, some having landed immediately after the last batch of wax I reviewed along with club founder Johnny H. So this time around how about five slabs of wax featuring a right mixed bag of rock n roll fun? How about some electronica Oh yes glunk goes electronics on us, and I also manage to get myself mixed up with some blissful stoner bombdrops. Now I didn’t think I’d ever be saying that (however please rest assured I haven’t put on the plaid shirt nor have I grown any face fuzz and the creepers and guyliner are still the first thing I reach for in the midday) so without further ado first up I’d like to introduce you to a mighty split from those fine folk over at No Front Teeth.
The Stitches/Miscalculations – ‘Split’ 7” (No Front Teeth Records)
This is quite possibly the most curious single I’ve had for a while, with Miscalculations sort of covering themselves by doing a techno version of ‘Factory Life’ which is more Soft Cell than punk rock – but it works! There is also a more traditional sparse guitar version that sees a rough guitar lick over a simple drum beat that see’s this duo of Shaun Clark and Marco Palumbo Rodriges dish up another well worth buying single. But wait!!!! This split is a special one punk rockers as it has an electro and an electric side, with the flip featuring none other than The Stitches, contributing an exclusive previously unreleased Pete Dee from the Adicts mix of ’Automatic’, plus you also get the exclusive ‘The Jet Set’ electro version of ‘Automatic’. This baby is also available in several different covers (via No Front Teeth directly) that will be extremely collectable so don’t hang around.
http://miscalculations.bandcamp.com/album/7-split-with-the-stitches
http://www.nofrontteeth.co.uk/#!product/prd1/1557728445/nftr-118
Sudden Jerks – ‘Self Titled’ 7” (No Front Teeth Records)
Staying very much in the No Front camp, we have Sudden Jerks, who feature Steve E. Nix (The Briefs, Cute Lepers) and Terminal Gagger (The Gaggers, Miscalculations, Disco Lepers). Nix plays the music, Gagger sings. I know No front Teeth are banging the singles out at a rapid pace but to be honest the quality of all the releases are exceptional and this is another one to add to that list. Plus for your bucks you get treated to five top tunes. It won’t take a genius to work out what this sounds like. Just think The Gaggers, Briefs, Cute Lepers and bingo you got it! Classic ’77 punk rock and roll with some great hooks is what’s on offer and this like The Stitches split is gonna fly out the racks so don’t be a dummy go buy a copy now.
http://www.nofrontteeth.co.uk/#!product/prd1/1557723525/nftr-143
Mary’s Kids/T55’s – ‘Split’ (AM Records/Strange Magic Records)
Setting off on another fantastic riotous split this AM Records single see’s Mary’s Kids blast off with a blistering romp through ‘Society’ before their second cut of ‘Produkt AV 70 Ara’, which is a mother tongue garage stomp. If you’ve never heard Mary’s Kids before this is a perfect way to introduce yourself to another Scandinavian band who know how to kick out the jams big time. On the flip side you get two uncompromising punches from The T-55’s and first up is ‘Shut Your Face’ which sees venom spat all over your turntable as they punk rock and roll through this sub two minute classic. To wrap up this bad boy is my pick of the pack and ‘We Gotta Kill’ which has a simple yet catchy hook on the chorus that’ll have the headknockers bobbing along. It’s certainly well worth investigating this super split.
http://www.strangemagicrecords.com
For ordering details – [email protected]
Dime Runner – ‘Can’t Express’ EP (Wanda Records)
Vibrant and with a monster bass line in the intro before really kicking off like a punch to the guts, Dime Runner are quality. It’s certainly no surprise that such an excellent 7” is being released on such a great label as Wanda. My only gripe is its only two tracks and nothing more. The lead track is a belter but so is the explosive ‘Drink It Up’ on the flip. This is the perfect marriage of band and label knocking out another yet another essential 45.
http://mailorder.wandarecords.de/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=10560
Borracho/Cortez – ‘Split’ (AM Records)
Each band gets one track each on this big and groovy 7” record. Borracho kick it off with a huge stoner groove on their track ‘Know My Name’, and this cut really does sound massive. Released on three coloured vinyl versions this is a doom laden huge grooving split of premiership class and you wouldn’t want to miss out on another AM records limited pressing now would you? As for the Cortez contribution, this Boston act kick in with a fuelled up rocker as ‘Vanishing Point’ disappears out of the rear view mirror. This is my pick of the two on offer here and this release has opened my eyes to a genre that never really appealed to me until now, I must investigate further and so should you.
For ordering details – [email protected]
So there you have it for another meeting of The Uber Rock Singles Club. Some labels really do know how to do this seven inch record thing really well and as such they’re the front runners in the early part of this year. Don’t hang about too long with these babies though or some of them will be long gone, that I can promise you!