The Über Rock Singles Club – Stonking September (Part Three)

Curated by DJ Monk

It certainly has been a long month. Well, it has had five Sundays in it – which is great from our point of view, as it means we have been able to open up the Singles Club three times this month, bringing you the pick of the crop of the literally hundreds of submissions which have come our way since we last loaded up the jukebox and declared the bar open for business…

And we get off to a sizzling start, quite literally, with the stonking new release from Swedish melodic rock merchants H.E.A.T. ‘One By One’, which the band describe as being about “enlightening people and showing an alternative path to life, sets down an appetizing marker for their forthcoming new album, which is due before the end of the year. Oh, and it comes with a rather tasty animated video:

Next’ we’re turning the dial on the URHQ glam-o-meter up to 11 as we re-acquainted ourselves with Brummie retro sleazebags Tremendous, who once again hit the mark with latest single ‘Copycat Killer’. Dig out those chiffon scarves and high-heeled boots, boyz ‘n’ gurlz, ‘cos this one will have you twirling around the dancefloor like you were on an episode of the Marc Bolan TV show…

Next, we’re digging that Vulture Vibe with the Danish rock ‘n’ roll crue of the same name, who have us entering the ‘Darkness’ with a groovy little number originally released last month in their homeland but now being given a push here in the Über Kingdom. The single features Todd Ögren Brooks from Rival Sons on keyboards:

We’re turning down the mood a wee bit now, as we’re feeling those ‘Globalisation Blues’ with The Inspector Cluzo, the French power rock duo who made such an impression with UK audiences earlier this year with their support slots with Clutch and their acclaimed Download set. Their new album, ‘Brothers In Ideals’, is a complete acoustic re-recording of last year’s ‘We, The People Of The Soil’. Make sure to catch the pair live when they return to these shores for run of five headline dates next February.

OK, time to change the mood again, as sauntering up to the stage we have Bury riff merchants Pist, who are rotting our minds with the somewhat atmospheric lead single from their forthcoming new album, ‘Hailz’, which is due to drop via APF at the beginning of November. To say that the sound these boys produce is huge would be something of an understatement… heck, my ears are bleeding already!

We turn the rock ‘n’ roll dial back to the setting marked “sleazy” as we get ‘Out Of Control’ with Texas hard rockers Ratchet Dolls. This one will simultaneously light a fire under your ass and start a riot in your ears, with its infectious groove and hard rockin’ vibe:

We travel up the north American sub-continent now to Canada, to hook up with Danko Jones… well, we don’t actually have to travel that far, as the guitarist (and his band, of course) currently are ripping up stages the length and breadth of the Über Kingdom in the company of Volbeat and Baroness. And from what we hear, it’s a case of ‘Fists Up High’ each and every night…

From raising fists to stomping feet, as one of our favourite hard rock crües, Burnt Out Wreck, find out if we’re ‘Dead Or Alive’ with the stonking lead single from their forthcoming second album, ‘This Is Hell’. Just as we’d expect, it’s old school, no fucking about rock ‘n’f’n’ roll ripped from the soul of ‘DC and Saxon:

Now, everyone knows we love a bevy or three here at the Singles Club, but even we might struggle to keep up with Finnish folk metal vagabonds Korpiklaani who take us to the ‘Land Of A Thousand Drinks’, which is actually one of their older songs, ‘Joumamaa’, re-recorded in English. Cheers lads!

Next up, another change in pace, as ÜR faves Hollowstar (who are about to head out on the road again, this time in support of Skid Row) present us with the third single from their self-titled debut album. It is the tale of a ‘Good Man Down’ and apparently is a song which holds a particular significance for the band members, as it pays homage to a childhood friend who lost his battle with depression. The accompanying video was shot during the Cambridgeshire band’s headline tour earlier this year:

Hang on a second… I hear a noise in the club garage! Oh, that’ll be Swiss bubblegum punks 45Rally blasting their way through their hysterically inane new single ‘Bigly’. Like all of the songs on new album ‘Tweets For My Sweet’, the song title is taken from online comments by a certain president, but they turn them into sugarsweet power pop meets country punk ditties that can’t help but make you smile… just like the accompanying video, which is proper old school DIY stuff as well:

We’re getting close to last orders at the bar, but we’ve got time to squeeze in another couple of tunes before the bell chimes. So’ we’re gonna turn things full circle with another slice of retro chic, this time recalling the heading days of psychedelic prog rock, thanks to Aldi Dallo Spazio, who tells us that he’ll be our ‘Long Time Lover’ if we let him into the club… he doesn’t need to go quite that far, as we actually like this infectious slice of dreamy, spaced out loveliness:

Ok, the barman is looking at us kinda funny, so it’s time for our final offering, and we’ve had so much good stuff come our way over the past fortnight that it’s hard to pick a track to close us out of this edition… but we’re going to do with a hugely impressive slice of visceral post-hardcore in the shape of Melbourne metallians Drown This City, who tell us that they are ‘Still Broken’ with the latest single to be lifted from their excellent ‘Alpha // Survivor’ EP, which showcases this Aussie mob as a genuinely bright new talent on the underground scene:

So, that’s it for another edition of the Singles Club. The big lad known as DJ Astrocreep will be in charge of the wheels of steel in two weeks’ time so, until then, and in the best Über Rock tradition, keep ‘er lit, keep ‘er between the hedges and keep on rockin’ \m/