The Uber Rock Singles Club – The Christmas 2012 Extravaganza

“Ho Ho Ho”, it’s Santa H Bomb here once again, this time complete with a bountiful sack of vinyl to fill the stockings of all you collectors out there. We’ve got a pretty mixed bag for you this time around genre wise, but once again everything comes bathed in that warm glow that only the sound of a dropping stylus can give you.

 

So without further ado, we start up this edition of the Singles Club with the band of the moment and a limited 10″ one sided slab of prime Rolling Stones. Side one contains probably the best song they’ve recorded in the last three decades, (even if it does sound a hell of a lot like an amalgam of the best bits of the band’s last three decades), plus when you flip it over you get a mega cool reproduction of The Stones Fifty Years’ lips logo, making this release probably the most cost effective way of celebrating the band’s anniversary without having to re-mortgage your family home.

 

Available exclusively through mail order via UMC the Jeff Bhasker radio mix of ‘Doom And Gloom’ is anything but that, in fact I’d go so far as to say I’ve never heard the Stones sounding happier. Perhaps they had a huge blown up version of their pay cheque for this month’s anniversary shows pinned to their Paris studio wall when they were recording this tune? Who knows eh? Actually more to the point, who cares? This is a great tune played by a truly legendary band, and this release is sure to sell out pronto, oh it just has. Bugger!

 

This special bumper Christmas edition of The Uber Rock Singles Club seems to already be running on a loose theme of “band’s making a comeback” so I thought this split 7 ” from Tsar and Killola on Aderra Records that I picked up the same time as purchasing the former’s ‘The Dark Stuff’ EP recently might be ideally suited to slot in here. This is largely because the lead track, a cover of the Olsen Twins ‘Pool Party’ in the hands of Jeff Whalen and his super-tsars is not only a direct descendent of The Rolling Stones ‘Jumping Jack Flash’ but it’s also the best track from the reformed band that doesn’t actually feature on said EP.

 

Killola on the other hand are a new name to me (even though they’ve been around since 2003 and have toured with the likes of Semi Precious Weapons and New York Dolls), their version of Suburban Lawn’s ‘Janitor’ is a mighty fine introduction to the female vocal lead Los Angeles alt pop quartet, and I’ll certainly be checking them out in more detail very soon.

 

We do love a bit of anything that comes baring the label of Go Ape Records here at The Uber Rock Singles Club and this debut four tracker from Brooklyn based pizza punks Little Seizures is no exception to the labels exemplary levels of service to garage punk.

 

Each of the tracks on offer here has the stackheeled guitar strut of early New York Dolls pushing the needles into the red whilst the melodies come coloured with the lipstick smear of the much missed Star Spangles. It’s impossible to pick out one song as a standout here because they are all top-drawer examples of glunk rock, but if I were pushed ‘Got Me Scared’ just has the snot flicking edge on the other trio of tunes. Excellent stuff and mucho kudos once again to the DIY rock ‘n’ rollers at Go Ape Records

 

If you read my review last week all about my recent live encounter with The Bronx you’ll already know that the song ‘Ribcage’ is the lead track from the band’s soon to be released fourth album. And what we have here is the mail order/gig only 7” of said song out now on White Drugs, and put it bluntly it is an absolutely corking blast of punk rock illustrating a perhaps more melodic side to the band.

 

This is backed up on the flip with the more typical Bronx sounding ‘Into The Black’ which makes me scribble down just how much the “new” Gallows sound like The Bronx when they are cooking on gas. Now bring on the album.

 

Which brings me rather neatly to the main tour support on those recent Bronx UK shows, Blasted and their debut four track EP on Dry Heave Records called ‘Exposed’. Formed out of the ashes of Winnebago Deal this the trio’s first venture onto vinyl is pressed on either clear splatter or orange splatter, and whilst it might not fully capture the band’s live intensity it still makes your stylus smolder under the ferocity of the band’s old school hardcore attack.

 

The EP’s flip lead track ‘Time To Die’ then is not so much a warning as almost a forgone conclusion once you put this deadly four tracker on your turntable. This is both brutal and essential. So go buy yourself a copy now!!!!

 

Dropping the pace just a little but without losing any of the intensity I couldn’t conduct this meeting of the Uber Rock Singles Club without mentioning the recent vinyl remasters from the Lords Of The New Church, especially the ‘Rockers’ album on Devil’s Jukebox.

 

And for those of you who still haven’t experienced the delights of Brian James’ remixes of some of the Lords finest cuts the perfect way to dip your toe into their not so murky waters is via this 33 1/3 rpm cut red or white vinyl 7″ featuring the ‘Rockers’ version of ‘Lil Boys Playing With Dolls’, backed up with two live cuts (‘Open Your Eyes’ and ‘New Church’) from a 1982 London show which whilst sounding “of their time” are none the less still a fantastic glimpse into a band that should have been enormous.

 

Someone who was way beyond enormous in the early eighties was Adam Ant, and as if by some spooky coincidence he’s just gone and released his first new 7″ in god knows how many years on his own label, BlueBlack Hussar Records. Entitled ‘Cool Zombie’ it’s a track that is not perhaps what you might call “immediate” but after a few plays you pretty soon have the ant wails stuck in your brain.Any Uber Rockers wondering what the ex members of Three Colours Red are up to these days should note that Chris McCormack gets a co-writing credit for the A side.

 

B side ‘Gun In Your Pocket’ is a much more rocking tune, and in comparison to the A side this Ant penned track sounds more like a live demo, capturing an almost Gary Holton and the Stooges type vibe. I’ll certainly be pre ordering Ant’s soon to be released comeback album on the strength of this release and I think many more will too.

 

Talking of The Stooges their old mucker David Bowie of the D Bowie Band has been pretty busy on the vinyl reissue front via EMI recently. Four decades on both ‘The Jean Genie’ and ‘John I’m Only Dancing’ have followed the lead set by the Record Store Day 2012 pressing of ‘Starman’ with both singles being made available in limited numbers on heavyweight picture discs.

 

I actually managed to pick up both of these without having to break the bank via the ever reliable Sister Ray Records in London. Both releases contain B sides that collectors will want to own on vinyl and both A sides sound absolutely fan-fucking-tastic pressed as they are here on vinyl so heavy your turntable will groan when you put them on. These discs sounded so good that the very the next day I actually went out and bought the recent 40th anniversary edition of ‘The Rise And Fall of Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars’ too which just in case you’re wondering also sounds fantastic – but that’s a story for another day I think.

 

I’d like to conclude this singles club the same way as it started with the oft understated 10″ vinyl format and a real curio of a release from the recent touring partnership of Field Music and Warm Digits. Recorded for BBC Radio 3’s Late Junction back in January 2012 this 4 tracker is an experimental instrumental EP of electronic prog that Distraction Records should be applauded for releasing.

 

Lead track ‘Elements Of The Sun’ bizarrely recalls in equal measures The Who and Kraftwerk, and if that hasn’t twisted your melon enough then as the instrumental EP continues you get drawn into the pulsing almost jazz like ‘Travelodge Blues’ before B side tunes ‘Snow Watch’ and ‘Higgs’ take you on an altogether more ambient yet perhaps more straight ahead electronic direction. When I first picked up this EP I was puzzled regarding just what the hell BBC 3 listeners would make of this meeting of musical minds, now having experienced it I know they would have loved it.

 

Right that’s me just about done for 2012 on the vinyl frontier, so I’ll see you all again with a fresh batch of vinyl in the new year, and if anyone in the meantime wants to buy me a new Technics P34 stylus and cartridge that would be very much appreciated as this lot just about burnt mine out. No Joking!