VIDEO OF THE WEEK – THE BOMBPOPS

Chosen by DJ Monk

We had another bumper bunch of submissions for our ‘Video Of The Week’ award, with loads of bands issuing new material in a bid to lighten the darkened skies under which we seem to find the Überverse lurking at the moment. So, in a bid to add to that brightening of the mood, we have followed the example of our sister Singles Club feature and so bring you an extended shortlist of the best audio-visual collaborations to have retained our attention over the past seven days or so…

Topping the pile this week we have California punks The Bombpops with their wonderful clip for ‘Zero Remorse’, the third single to be lifted from their excellent, ÜR-approved new album ‘Death In Venice Beach’, which was hailed by our man John Bedard as transporting him back to the joys of his skater-punk youth. The accompanying video is wonderfully tongue-in-cheek, starting with a pastiche of that infamous scene from ‘Dr No’ and moving onto a gloriously inane tribute to Tarantino’s pulp movie resuscitations, which will have you laughing till your sides split while tapping your feet and nodding your head at the song’s infectious groove:

Our remaining videos are in no particular order, other than that in which they were submitted to ÜRHQ… so, first up we have madcap Ukrainian septet, and self-styled “avantgarde weirdos”, The Monumental and their new single, ‘Hui Skatapawa’. We don’t know much more about this mysterious mob – other than they have a frontman called ‘Brainfucker’, a guitarist called ‘Disciple Of Plague’ and seem to be some sort of eastern European cross between Evil Scarecrow, Footprints In The Custard and Psychostick… Be warned, however, this hysterical video does contain copious amounts of fakery around a certain sex act!

Next up, we have what could possibly be construed as quite a controversial video, addressing the very serious issues of mental health and suicide in a slightly grotesque manner, accompanied by a surprisingly upbeat and uplifting soundtrack. It is ‘I Love You More Than I Hate You’, the new offering from pop punk veterans NOFX, which is a chillingly ironic and it is hard-hitting in its message sbout how many people view the subjects it addresses:

More pop punk, this time from one of the new breed smashing their way through and helping to re-invigorate the genre. We are, of course, talking about Texan teenagers Not UR Girlfrenz, who have produced yet another inanely infectious earworm in ‘Game Over’ – and then coupled it with another brilliantly fun video which beautifully captures the first wave of pop punk rebels with its well-mannered and affectionate retro feel. Pop open a root beer and enjoy this one with the volume cranked right the way up:

Another album that piqued the ears of our Über Rockin’ team recently was the hugely ambitious 100-minute long double-CD set ‘Of Truth And Consequence’, from German metal/deathcore proginators Heaven Shall Burn – it’s an absolute monster of a release, that’s for certain. Our man Tim reckoned that the lead video, ‘Eradicate’, was one of the best to hit our screens in the past 12 months… well, the Thuringian terrors have only gone and topped it with the titanic ‘Übermacht’, an epic song which has been given a suitably epic visual treatment:

Time to get a little melancholy, and it cannot have escaped the world’s attention that Behemoth frontman Nergal is continuing to plough his death-folk/murder ballad route with his Me And That Man side project: well, the beautifully mournful ‘Confession’ is the sixth single to have been released from the forthcoming second album, the wonderfully titled ‘New Man, New Songs, Same Shit, Vol.1.’. Unlike the first MATM album, ‘New Man…’ features a variety of guest vocalists, with duties on ‘Confession’ being handled by Niklas Kvarforth from the Swedish incarnation of Shining. The result is a typically mournful affair, accompanied by another beautifully shot, Western-inspired video which truly captures the ethos of the song:

Our final offering is actually an old song, and a previously released video, which has been slightly re-imagined to suit to current climate. Originally recorded back in 2018, Swiss psych rockers Dirty Sound Magnet re-edited the previously shot version of ‘Organic Sacrifice’, which they also have subtitled ‘Corona Blues’. The final effect is as dystopian and confusing as the world in which we currently find ourselves:

OK, that’s us for another week. We’re going to leave you with a little bit of a bonus, and a timely intervention from our friends in Bitch Queens, who have some good advice for all of us. Until next time, #StaySafe, #WashYourHands and #StayTheFuckHome: