By DJ Monk

The weather may have turned slightly in the past few days, but the rock ‘n’ roll action is still hot, hot, HOT here at ÜRHQ, where we are proud to announce that the latest edition of the Singles Club is now officially open for business. And the summer holidays don’t mean that things have slowed in any shape or form, as we had more than 200 submissions over the past fortnight. So, with that in mind, let’s stick a couple of quid in the jukebox and turn up the volume to 11…

Our first guests join us all the way from the legendary Bay Area, as The Atom Age tell us that they’re ‘Never Looking’ with a glorious slice of trashy garage punk to be taken from their forthcoming new album, ‘Cry ‘Til You Die’, which itself is due to be released in around a fortnight’s time:

We stay Stateside but traverse the country to Nashville, where FFN tell us that they’re ‘Ugly’. The song itself doesn’t live up to its title, as it’s a nice, breezy slice of indie pop punk with a catchy hook and a singalong chorus. It’s taken from their EP ‘Such Is Life’, which has just been released via InVogue Records.

It’s been Pride Week here in ÜR’s home city of Belfast, so it’s appropriate that our next offering comes from Midlands-based queer DIY punks Suggested Friends and ‘Cygnets’, the lead single from their forthcoming new album ‘Turtle Taxi’, which is due for release on 4 October. The video was filmed in Virginia during the quartet’s US tour last Autumn, while the song itself apparently was written by guitarist/vocalist Faith Taylor in just ten minutes and features the sound of her alarm clock mixed in with real birdsong:

Next up, we cross over the Scandanavia, where Refused are painting the club ‘Blood Red’ with the debut single from their new album, ‘War Music’, due to be released on 18 October and will be followed by a series of dates in Birmingham, Glasgow, Bristol, Brixton, Manchester and Nottingham at the end of the same month. The accompanying video looks back at the bands career, from their formation in 1991 to the present day

We return to dear old Blighty now, and a song that just missed the deadline for the last opening of the Singles Club, in the form of ‘Hey With Two Whys’ from madcap Brighton indie punks Gender Roles. The track is taken from their forthcoming album, ‘Prang’, which is being released at the end of the month by Big Scary Monsters. The band will be touring in October, so check their Facebook page for dates – and then go check ‘em out:

A total change in direction now, in more senses than one, as Birmingham metallians Eradikator move away from their previous thrash style to a more hard rock one, but without sacrificing any of their heaviness on their Alice Cooper evoking new single ‘Nightmare Dawning’, taken from their brand new, ‘Obscura’, which was released via Divebomb Records just this past Friday:

Back across the Atlantic we head, and back to the West Coast, where we find LA newcomers The Paranoyds, who released the title track of their forthcoming debut album, ‘Carnage Bargain’ a week or so back. The album itself is due to land on 13 September via the excellent Suicide Squeeze label, and the single is a very taster appetizer indeed:

We’re heading up the desert highway to Arizona now from some truly fresh blood, in the shape of the debut single from Lo Blow, and a defiant statement of intent in the form of ‘Undefeated’. It’s a promising slice of lo-fi indie pop rock with a stoner edge, and bodes well for their debut EP, which is due later in the year via Revival Records.

Back across the shuck we come to find UR faves IDLES, who celebrate their current album, ‘Joy As An Act Of Resistance’ being shortlisted for the 2019 Mercury Prize by telling us the tale of the ‘Mercedes Marxist’ on a standalone single release. Neither the band nor their music should need any introduction to regular readers, so we’ll just say that yer man must have had a sore head by the time they finished filming the video:

More good old fashioned heavy metal now, in the shape of Swedish warriors Hammerfall, who are asserting their ‘Dominion’ over us with the just-released title track from their new album, which hits the shelves on 16 August:

We take a short ferry trip across the Baltic to Germany next, where The New Roses celebrate the release of their stunning new album, ‘Nothing But Wild’, this past Friday by taking us down the ‘Glory Road’ on the second single to be lifted from same. This is a quality slice of rock ‘n’ roll from one of ÜR’s favourite bands, and releases, of the moment:

And now for something completely different, and a bit off the wall, for our penultimate treat, with the second single from the wonderfully weird Glitter Machine and their second single, ‘Take The Pain’. An hypnotic slice of industrial-tinged Gothicism, it’s taken from the London quartet’s debut album, ‘Hanging Out For Fame’. Based on what we’ve heard so far at URHQ, they won’t be doing so for long…

Finally for this instalment, we are supping on some Dead Man’s Whiskey, as the London crüe celebrate the announcement that they are to play this year’s Kiss Kruise by boarding the ‘Last Train’ and bringing this edition of the Singles Club to a close with a dose of honest-to-goodness, balls-to-the-wall rock ‘n’f’n’ roll, with no frills or fancy trickery, just a good solid song that should be part of anyone’s soundtrack for what’s left of the summer:

So, there you have it: a baker’s dozen of the finest tunes to have come our way over the past couple of weeks, and I’m sure you’ll agree that there’s some quality stuff in there. The big lad known as DJ Astrocreep will be back behind the decks in a fortnight’s time with his choice of the best new singles to be released in the intervening period. Until then, keep ‘er lit, keep ‘er between the hedges and keep on rockin’…

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