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Strange, Strange Times

by The Ugly Kings

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  • Record/Vinyl + Digital Album

    Bandcamp Friday Special! Strictly limited to 10 Red Gold LP (180g) in full art Gatefold Cover with individual song character illustrations designed by Reginald Pean. Lyric sheet insert included.

    *Items ship within the EU, EU to the World, and within Australia*

    Includes unlimited streaming of Strange, Strange Times via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    ships out within 3 days
    Purchasable with gift card

      $50 AUD or more 

     

  • Streaming + Download

    Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    Purchasable with gift card

      $9.99 USD  or more

     

  • Record/Vinyl + Digital Album

    The Ugly Kings Exclusive Vinyl Edition. Strictly limited to 300 Yellow / Black Marble LP (180g) in full art Gatefold Cover with individual song character illustrations designed by Reginald Pean. Lyric sheet insert included.

    *Items ship within the EU, EU to the World, and within Australia*

    Includes unlimited streaming of Strange, Strange Times via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    ships out within 3 days
    edition of 300  51 remaining
    Purchasable with gift card

      $45 AUD or more 

     

  • Compact Disc (CD) + Digital Album

    Beautiful Digipack Vinyl Optic CD Edition with 12 page booklet including individual song character illustrations designed by Reginald Pean and lyrics.

    *Items ship within the EU, EU to the World, and within Australia*

    Includes unlimited streaming of Strange, Strange Times via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    ships out within 3 days
    Purchasable with gift card

      $25 AUD or more 

     

  • Compact Disc (CD) + Digital Album

    Package including Digipack Vinyl Optic CD with 'Technodrone' / 'Lawman' 2-patch set and 'The Ugly Kings' Custom Logo Pin.

    *Items ship within Australia and from Australia to the World*

    Includes unlimited streaming of Strange, Strange Times via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    ships out within 3 days
    Purchasable with gift card

      $45 AUD or more 

     

  • Record/Vinyl + Digital Album

    Bandcamp Friday Special! Strictly limited to 10 Transparent Yellow / Red Marble LP (180g) in full art Gatefold Cover with individual song character illustrations designed by Reginald Pean. Lyric sheet insert included.

    *Items ship within the EU, EU to the World, and within Australia*

    Includes unlimited streaming of Strange, Strange Times via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    ships out within 3 days
    edition of 15  3 remaining
    Purchasable with gift card

      $50 AUD or more 

     

  • 'Lizard' Neon Green Vinyl
    Record/Vinyl + Digital Album

    Kozmik Artifactz exclusive 'Neon Green' Vinyl Edition, strictly limited to 50 copies on Bandcamp. Remaining copies available from Kozmik Artifactz.
    Beautiful Neon Green LP (180g) in full art Gatefold Cover with individual song character illustrations designed by Reginald Pean. Lyric sheet insert included.

    *Ships within Australia and from Australia to the Rest of the World for Bandcamp sales*

    Includes unlimited streaming of Strange, Strange Times via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

    Sold Out

1.
"Black clouds in the sky I think I see another storm on the horizon Adding fuel to the fire It’s a flammable situation What is this nightmare in my eyes? What are the thoughts that keep me up at night? I’ve disconnected my mind From the stories on the television Maybe I forgot to breathe In this world of calamity What a pretty little pantomime And we’re running out of time I don’t know where this all leads But it’s spinning at a faster speed Hold your breath and close your eyes Everything’s alright in these strange, strange times It’s a strange, strange time Beware the evil of the eye Watching closely while I step away from Eden As I pretend to be blind The ordinary was absurd from the beginning This is the nightmare in my eyes? These are the thoughts that keep me up at night? Now I am looking for a sign In this apocalyptic knowledge cemetery Maybe I forgot to breathe In this world of calamity What a pretty little pantomime And we’re running out of time I don’t know where this all leads But it’s spinning at a faster speed Hold your breath and close your eyes Everything’s alright in these strange, strange times It’s a strange, strange time In these strange, strange times It’s a strange, strange time It’s a strange, strange time In these strange, strange times It’s a strange, strange time In these strange, strange times It’s a strange, strange time In these strange, strange times "
2.
Technodrone 03:52
"Midnight glow of a cigarette Bad news taking up space in your head Take a hit of dopamine You know that we play with a plastic screen Can you tell me how am I supposed to feel I’m losing sight of everything that’s real When you're hypnotised left standing like a stone Like a disillusioned technicolour drone You’re the star attraction In a zoo to chase a reaction Behind walls of vanity You know that greener grass is all you see Can you tell me how am I supposed to feel I’m losing sight of everything that’s real When you're hypnotised left standing like a stone Like a disillusioned technicolour drone There’s no love cause he won’t stay Put your validation on display When midnight comes, he will arrive To fill that void for another night Oh loneliness is a small price to pay Can you tell me how am I supposed to feel I’m losing sight of everything that’s real When you're hypnotised left standing like a stone Like a disillusioned technicolour drone Techno Drone, Techno Drone Like a disillusioned technicolour drone Techno Drone, Techno Drone Like a disillusioned technicolour drone Like a disillusioned technicolour drone Like a disillusioned technicolour drone Like a disillusioned technicolour drone "
3.
"Satellites inside my head Lost in existential dread Now the man has got control of me I’m a truther born and bred Don't believe a word you've said You should know that my speech is for free Or do you see the pattern Hidden in the make believe You’re running on a wheel Scared of everything you see Chemicals beneath my skin Now the walls are closing in It’s my right don’t question my belief Mind control and lizard men Think fast, my head spins Disagree you are my enemy Or do you see the pattern Hidden in the make believe You’re running on a wheel Scared of everything you see Do you feel like you're paranoid Lord knows you’re paranoid Do you feel like you're paranoid Lord knows you’re paranoid Paranoid Paranoid Paranoid Paranoid Hey man, don’t you know the truth Big brother with eyes on you Cameras catching everything you see From the keyboard I’m a sleuth Bring them down I got the proof Save them from their own humanity Or do you see the pattern Hidden in the make believe You’re running on a wheel Scared of everything you see Do you feel like you're paranoid Lord knows you’re paranoid Do you feel like you're paranoid Lord knows you’re paranoid Do you feel like you're paranoid Lord knows you’re paranoid Do you feel like you're paranoid Lord knows you’re paranoid Paranoid Paranoid Lord knows you’re paranoid Paranoid Paranoid Do you feel like you’re paranoid Paranoid Paranoid Do you feel like you’re paranoid Paranoid Paranoid Do you feel like you’re paranoid Paranoid Paranoid Do you feel like you’re paranoid Paranoid Paranoid Do you feel like you’re paranoid "
4.
"As I awake from my final breath A beast inside me rises from the dead White velvet skin You’re on my mind When the sun goes down in the shadows I become the night In the shadows I become the night Under the stars in the pale moonlight My teeth are sharp and my eyes are wide Oh my sweet thing Give me a sign When the sun goes down, in the shadows I become the night In the shadows I become the night You can join me in the fire When the sky is burning bright But when the sun goes down you better learn how to Run run run far away girl, shadows take your soul Run run run far away girl, shadows take your soul As my body starts to writhe and sweat I feel a hunger cause I’m on your scent Come with me To the divine When the sun goes down, in the shadows I become the night In the shadows I become the night You can join me in the fire When the sky is burning bright But when the darkness falls Lock up all your doors Close up all your windows And don’t pray for me no more Because the beast in me When the time is right Will be creeping through the shadows in the middle of the night Run run run far away girl, shadows take your soul Run run run far away girl, shadows take your soul Run run run far away girl, shadows take your soul Run run run far away girl, shadows take your soul Run run run far away girl, shadows take your soul Run run run far away girl, shadows take your soul Run run run far away girl, shadows take your soul Run run run far away girl, shadows take your soul "
5.
"Six months in the void In an eternal tin can asteroid I watched the world destroyed Now I’m a passenger From the motherland to the creator No past and no future Stuck inside my satellite When the darkness took the light Now I’m the last man left alive I am the last man left alive There’s no space and time Only love that I have left behind God knows what I will find Is this where I belong? Just a sacrifice to the great beyond In exile I go on Stuck inside my satellite When the darkness took the light Now I’m the last man left alive I am the last man left alive Oh stuck inside my satellite When the darkness took the light Now I’m the last man left alive I am the last man left alive Can anybody hear me? A ray of light on the galaxy I am the last man left alive I am the last man left alive I am the last man left alive I am the last man left alive Lost in the midnight sea This is my final odyssey Like dust to infinity Stuck inside my satellite When the darkness took the light Now I’m the last man left alive I am the last man left alive Oh stuck inside my satellite When the darkness took the light Now I’m the last man left alive I am the last man left alive I am the last man left alive I am the last man left alive I am the last man left alive I am the last man left alive "
6.
Lawman 04:43
"Mr lawman can you help me I’ve been standing here all day I got three directions, a gun in my hand and nothing left to say Mr lawman please convict me See I shot the woman I love When you lock me away you won’t need a key to send me to the clouds above As I stand at the crossroads I know I am condemned Don’t be kind to a man with Nothing left for him I was born in the dirt and That’s where I will end I won’t pray for redemption Life is but a sin Mr lawman don’t forgive me I hope you can understand She was the finest woman a man could love now the bloods upon my hands Mr lawman when you hang me I won’t need no final words When I close my eyes I will see her face as I slip into the universe As I stand at the crossroads I know I am condemned Don’t be kind to a man with Nothing left for him I was born in the dirt and That’s where I will end I won’t pray for redemption Life is but a sin As I stand at the crossroads I know I am condemned Don’t be kind to a man with Nothing left for him I was born in the dirt and That’s where I will end I won’t pray for redemption Life is but a sin "
7.
"Oh darling Will you be everything I need Bionic blue eyes like a laser beam Won’t you be my girl Oh darling I’m a sucker for a plastic face I’m your master if you’ll be my slave Won’t you be my girl Electric lady won’t you be my kryptonite A latex kinda love that feels so right We’re raging through the day, morning till night Electric lady won’t you be my kryptonite My kryptonite Oh darling Skin so soft with a heart so cold You'll stay the same as I’m growing old Won’t you be my girl Oh darling Won’t you hold me in your rigid embrace Never lonely when I see your face Won’t you be my girl Electric lady won’t you be my kryptonite A latex kinda love that feels so right We’re raging through the day, morning till night Electric Lady When we move together in synthetic delight You know my heart flutters and I feel alive This pulsing, plastic love you know it feels so right Electric, lady lover won’t you be My Kryptonite (Electric lady won’t you be my kryptonite) My Kryptonite (A latex kinda love that feels so right) My Kryptonite (We’re raging through the day from morning till night) My Kryptonite (Electric lady won’t you be my kryptonite) Electric lady won’t you be my kryptonite A latex kinda love that feels so right We’re raging through the day from morning till night Electric lady won’t you be my kryptonite "
8.
"I met a man he was dressed in black He drove around in a Cadillac Gathering beggars and rallying thieves To make his final speech He said look into my eyes What do you seek Salvation is in what I preach Give me all your love And your charity And make a deal with me The devil comes with a smile The devil comes with a smile The devil comes with a smile The devil comes with a smile I knew a man with a shadow so long It blocked the sky where the sun had shone And with his words they would speak in tongues Then gather up their guns He said look into my eyes What do you seek Salvation is in what I preach Give me all your love And your charity And be mine for eternity The devil comes with a smile The devil comes with a smile The devil comes with a smile The devil comes with a smile Oh look into to my eyes Listen to every lesson that I teach And will you still choose to believe When you taste the poison from the burning tree The devil comes with a smile The devil comes with a smile The devil comes with a smile The devil comes with a smile Oh look into to my eyes Listen to every lesson that I teach And will you still choose to believe When you taste the poison from the burning tree The devil comes with a smile Don’t you know the devil comes The devil comes with a smile Don’t you know the devil comes The devil comes with a smile Don’t you know the devil comes The devil comes with a smile With a smile With a smile With a smile With a smile Oh look into to my eyes Listen to every lesson that I teach And will you still choose to believe When you taste the poison from the burning tree The devil comes with a smile Don’t you know the devil comes The devil comes with a smile Don’t you know the devil comes The devil comes with a smile Don’t you know the devil comes The devil comes with a smile Don’t you know With a smile With a smile With a smile With a smile "
9.
Mr. Hyde 03:59
"Doctor, doctor do you have the cure You see my thoughts are scattered and my mind’s impure You know ya lie to me tell me it’s okay In a long white coat like a wolf to prey Are you seeking what you find Oh are you Dr Jekyll or Mr Hyde Doctor, doctor, Jekyll or… Mr. Hyde Doctor, doctor, Jekyll or… Mr. Hyde Tie my feet and bound my hands Just make me into a respectable man If you promise me a brand new smile Then I’ll close my eyes while you turn the dial 100 volts racing through my mind Oh are you Dr Jekyll or Mr Hyde Doctor, doctor, Jekyll or… Mr. Hyde Doctor, doctor, Jekyll or… Mr. Hyde Doctor, doctor, Jekyll or… Mr. Hyde Doctor, doctor, Jekyll or… Mr. Hyde Doctor, doctor can you read my mind Cause my head is heavy and my eyes are blind And when you whisper softly that you have the cure You know I don’t feel reassured What's your plan, what's your design Said are you Dr Jekyll or Mr Hyde "
10.
"Another fucking day Another dirty dollar Cubicle walls are closing in around you, again Your compromised beliefs Don’t save the air you breath We lost the revolution now we’re paying back the fee And as the world is burning to the ground And everything that’s lost is never found You can follow the road to oblivion But you don’t have to fade away Another fucking day Your collar’s getting tighter Losing at a game that you never chose to play Every minute, every hour That silence keeps getting louder Tell me when you meet your maker what you gonna say And as the world is burning to the ground And everything that’s lost is never found You can follow the road to oblivion But you don’t have to fade away Another fucking day Another new disaster Waiting for the news to tell you who you're meant to blame There’s a king upon the hill And he tells you how to feel To sow the seeds of doubt to pass another bill And as they make their speeches Will you shake their greedy hands To climb right up that ladder cause they told you that’s the plan So when the flames get higher Will you hold them in the sky As they stand on all your dreams, as they whisper to you lies And as the world is burning to the ground And everything that’s lost is never found You can follow the road to oblivion But you don’t have to fade away No you don’t have to fade away No you don’t have to fade away No you don’t have to fade away No you don’t have to fade away No you don’t have to fade away "

about

Classic Rock Magazine
“Desert grooves with a side order of blues from Aussie four-piece.

Impeccably selected touchstones, a foothold in the blues and an innate sense of drama make Melbourne’s The Ugly Kings an intriguingly timeless prospect.

Their second album finds them tackling subjects as weighty as the riffs surrounding them, from the eco-panic of the title track – a full-pelt, elephantine desert-rock anthem that transplants Queens of The Stone Age into the heart of Mad Max’s apocalyptic battleground – to the crazed world of internet truthers on Do You Feel Like You’re Paranoid?.

Vocalist Russell Clark is blessed with a deep tone that switches from a Jim Morrison-style shamanic baritone to goth-glam theatrics (on the Cultish The Devil Comes With A Smile), giving the impression that storytelling comes naturally to him, while the band’s sound piles on the heaviness without letting it overwhelm the core message.

Perfectly pitched for festival afternoons in the sun, The Ugly Kings are all set to soundtrack these strangest of days.”

Soundmagnet
"Singer Russell Clark has a haunting yet strangely calming voice, which more than once reminds us of a certain Jim Morrison.
The Ugly Kings have a talent for combining different styles into a coherent overall picture.. they actually deliver the right soundtrack for these strange times. This album should catapult the guys from Down Under to the top. 9/10"

Rock Hard Magazine
"A captivating music theatre, in whose semidarkness Josh Homme smokes a herb blunt with Jim Morrison's ghost to old songs from his Queens Of The Stone Age."
"The Ugly Kings can be compared even more aptly with Grinderman."

Hailing from the great down under but headed straight to the top, Melbourne, Australia based gritty alternative rockers THE UGLY KINGS are poised to turn heads with their bombastic sophomore full-length, Strange, Strange Times, out August 13, 2021 via Napalm Records. Equal parts darkened power blues and raw punk with a metallic rock edge, THE UGLY KINGS channel the flavor of groups like Queens Of The Stone Age and The White Stripes while preserving razor sharp, daringly introspective control with clever lyricism and addictive riffage. Strange, Strange Times punches from 0 to 60 at the start of its five-and-a-half minute introductory title track, “Strange, Strange Times”, before frontman Russell Clark brings the listener back down to earth with his ominous, Jim Morrison-esque croons of blissful ignorance amid relentless chaos. The band’s revitalizing infusion of dark energy is immediately evident on tracks like radio-ready, gothic punk-laced head- bobber “Technodrone” and retro-inspired tripper “Do You Feel Like You’re Paranoid?” – both interwoven with warning lyrics relevant to the times. The post-punk revivalism spirit continues on tracks like the creeping, dynamic “In The Shadows” and seductive foot-stomper “Electric Lady (My Kryptonite)”, while the band goes on to flex their musical muscles on tracks like whiskey-soaked murder ballad “Lawman” and smoldering hard rocking standout “The Devil Comes With A Smile”. Listeners will get lost in tracks like the psychedelic, grooving “Last Man Left Alive” and equal parts proto-metal/horror punk “Mr. Hyde”, before commiserating with closing working man’s inspirational anthem “Another Fucking Day”. In a scene in which gimmick-free, angsty, inspired rock n’ roll is becoming increasingly difficult to come by, Strange, Strange Times is a breath of welcomed, yet strange, strange air.

credits

released August 13, 2021

Produced by The Ugly Kings and Julian Schweitzer
Recorded & Engineered by Julian Schweitzer
Recorded at Newmarket Studios in Melbourne, Australia
Mixed by Julian Schweitzer at Labracadabra Studios in Melbourne, Australia
Mastered by Joe Carra` at Crystal Mastering in Melbourne, Australia
Backing Vocals on ‘Lawman’ & ‘Electric Lady (My Kryptonite)’ by Catherine Schweitzer
All illustrations by Reginald Pean (@frenchinald)
Design Layout by Hound Machine (@houndmachine)

The Ugly Kings are:
Russell Clark (Vocals)
Christos Athanasias (Guitars)
Nicolas Dumont (Bass)
Joel Martin (Drums)

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The Ugly Kings Melbourne, Australia

The Ugly Kings offer a stripped down but powerful injection of energy and emotion to the modern rock scene; formulating what can only be described as ‘Power Blues’.

Memorable beats, thunderous bass lines and an electrifying barrage of bluesy ‘grit’ riffs tied with raw and emotive vocals.

For fans of QOTSA, The Doors, Jack White, Black Sabbath, Arctic Monkeys, Royal Blood, Rival Sons.
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