The Nite Songs Singles Bar April 2022

Our monthly trip to the Singles Bar takes place a bit earlier than usual this month as we’ve got a Sounds From The Junkshop Footnotes feature coming up next Saturday for you to look forward to. Not that it’s led to a smaller haul than normal with no less than fourteen (count ‘em!) new releases in this month’s column. Enjoy…

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And we're kicking off with some proper goth royalty here in the form of a new Bauhaus single, their first in fourteen years no less, Drink The New Wine (🌕🌕🌕🌕🌑). It's certainly an odd beast (then again, would you expect anything less?) with about four different sections including spaced out lyrics about being taken off to the funny farm then bass heavy dub then gentle acoustic guitars. Something of a dark epic here but it's naggingly insistent in its weirdness and doesn't let you go throughout. Is a new album in the works? Dunno but even if not, this is an intriguingly addictive slice of weirdness which could only have come from the minds of messrs Murphy, Ash, J and Haskins.

The prospect of a new Buzzcocks single is, I'll be honest, something I've got mixed feelings about not least because, much as I like Steve Diggle, the idea of a Buzzcocks without the late Pete Shelley just feels a bit wrong somehow. Nevertheless Senses Out Of Control (🌕🌕🌕🌕🌑) is indeed here and I actually enjoyed it a lot more than I thought I was gonna (especially as I wasn't a big fan of their most recent album, 2014's The Way. Sounding like the Ramones with the paranoia dialled up to ten, this is actually a good effort with a decent chorus hook and some thought-provoking lyrics. Maybe there's life in these old dogs yet...

It's early days yet but I'd still say that Helen Love remain the early frontrunners for the Nite Songs 2022 Album of the Year award with This Is My World (review here if you missed it) and as if we'd not been spoiled enough, we've now got a new non-album single from them in the form of Zip Up Your Tracksuit (🌕🌕🌕🌕🌑). Powered along on an almost disco-dub backing, it sees Helen and co in a bit of a spikier mood than the gentle nostalgia of the album as they take a dig at '90s Britpop revivalists to good effect including a couple of sneaky Blur and Taylor Swift samples in there. As intriguingly oddball as ever, the band are also donating all profits from the single to the Ukraine Disaster Fund - Bandcamp Link here

Jo Dog, former guitarist with the Dogs D'Amour, appears to be a bit of a busy man these days. As well as recording with fellow ex-Dogs Steve and Bam as the Desperados (new album later this year we hope?), he's also reactivated his early noughties band Sonic Boom (not to be confused with the bloke from Spacemen 3 who didn't go on to Spiritualized) which had him in partnership with ex-L.A. Guns singer Paul Black and Everybody Rains On My Parade (🌕🌕🌕🌕🌑) is the first single from the upcoming album of the same name. There's noticeably a bit of a '60s feel about this and the almost march-style drums and singalong chorus remind me of the Small Faces more than anything which isn't a bad place to be at all. I think this one narrowly sneaks it as our Single of the Month this month and hopefully it's a good omen for that new album. Bandcamp link here

It's always good to see some new music from the Virginmarys and following their excellent Northern Sun Sessions album from a few years ago, The Meds (🌕🌕🌕🌕🌑) is a taster of the group's upcoming fourth album. A three and a half minute slice of bruising angst about self-medicating to take away the horrors of the nine to five world, the mix of the grinding riff and Ally Dickaty's scowled vocals works very well indeed - the portents for the new album appear to be good.

Also back after a frankly far too lengthy absence are Birmingham scuzzmongers the Black Bombers with a new single Last Bite (🌕🌕🌕🌕🌑). Fronted by former Gunfire Dance/Godfathers man Darren Birch, this goes into almost psychedelic punk territory with the fuzzed-up squalling guitars, angry political lyrics and Iggy style vocals conjuring up the image of barely restrained chaos to good effect. There's a nod to their influences here with a cover of the Damned's You Take My Money on the B-side. I really hope this means that a second Black Bombers album will be incoming soon as it's been too long since the first one frankly.

But the award for longest hiatus returned from this month goes to Placebo with Happy Birthday In The Sky (🌕🌕🌕🌕🌑) representing their first new music in almost a decade. And I have to say it's a strong return from Brian Molko and co with an almost psychedelic edge to it with the icy piano and fuzzed-up guitars being reminiscent of the Cure after listening to some old Nuggets albums. Some interesting stuff on the B-sides as well with Try Better Next Time having an almost post-punk feel to it, Surrounded By Spies going into almost trip-hop style territory and Beautiful James being more straight ahead rock. We should have a review of the new Placebo album Never Let Me Go up on Nite Songs in the next few weeks and I'm looking forward to hearing it on this evidence.

Ultrabomb can legitimately lay claim to being something of a punk supergroup with the likes of ex-Husker Du man Greg Norton and former UK Subs drummer Jamie Oliver among their ranks and Star (🌕🌕🌕🌗🌑) is their second single from the group's upcoming debut album Time To Burn. It certainly leans more towards Husker Du than it does the Subs with the discordant guitars and subtle sense of melody underneath combining to create something that should definitely appeal to fans of the Replacements and similar. Bandcamp link here

South African punks the SoapGirls were certainly starting to cause a bit of a buzz pre-Covid with their Society's Rejects sophomore album and Breathe (🌕🌕🌕🌗🌑) is the first taster of its much-delayed follow-up. It's probably one of the group's poppiest efforts yet with a Breeders style slacker cool vibe but with the purring aggression still there underneath. I'll be interested to see if this is a sign of a change of direction on the new album or not when it comes out.

Signed to Alcopop records, the Home Counties are one of those bands tapping into those age old themes of cultural alienation and their new four track EP In A Middle English Town (🌕🌕🌕🌗🌑) sees them sounding like a post-punk version of Dead Sheeran or a more indie-fied Idles with the likes of Back To The '70s and The Home Counties taking aim at the gammon brigade with pinpoint precision. Certainly one of the weirder releases sonically that I've heard this year but there's definitely something to it that's kept me coming back to listen to it again. Bandcamp link here

Also signed to Alcopop are Cheerbleederz whose new single Cute As Hell (🌕🌕🌕🌗🌑) is out now and sounds oddly like the missing link between Veruca Salt and Helen Love with its mix of grungy attitude and lo-fi humour. First time I've heard of this band and hopefully it won't be the last. Bandcamp link here

Suzi Moon is a one woman punk rock operation from LA and her new EP Animal (🌕🌕🌕🌗🌑) definitely delivers the scuzzy glam-punk quota that we like to have in the Singles Bar each month with Sonic Attraction sounding like the Donnas if they'd grown up listening to the Dead Boys rather than Kiss. Animal meanwhile adds in some pounding Sweet style drums to the formula with Moon letting her vocals rise up from a gentle purr to a full on snarl before Gold Record Autograph takes things off down a more Ramonesy avenue to end the EP well. Bandcamp link here 

Cut from a superficially similar cloth are Wicked Cool signees Soraia whose Firebrand single (🌕🌕🌕🌗🌑) comes at things from a much more melodic angle veering more towards power-pop than Suzi Moon does. Indeed, this is so '80s that I half expected to see a sticker on it saying "As featured on the new Judge Reinhold film...". It's a fun enough slice of MOR influenced radio rock although you may struggle to get the image of Pat Benatar out of your head while listening to it.

Finally, hailing from Sheffield, You Filthy Dog are the other band of Silverjet frontman Pais and We Should Form A Band (🌕🌕🌕🌕🌑) is their third single and an endearingly knuckleheaded two minute slice of enthusiasm which is a loving piss-take of the skyscraping ambitions everyone has when they've jsut joined their first band. Fun stuff and recommended.

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Well, that turned into quite a heavy session I think we can all agree! Hope you found something to pique your interest, have a safe journey home, steady as you go, try not to fall into any hedges or roadworks and we'll see you back here in a few weeks for May's instalment of the Singles Bar. Hic.