Californian four-piece Ultra Q have shared the latest offering from their upcoming, debut album, My Guardian Angel, which is set for release on June 9th, arriving in the form of new single Rocket.
Bridging the gap between previous singles I Watched Them Go, Klepto and VR Sex, the track feels comforting and homely, despite its lyrical concepts of city nightlife and insomnia indicating the opposite. Speaking of the track, frontman Jakob Armstrong states:
This was a tricky one. Originally there were two demos for the song. The first is titled Rocket, and the second is titled Bon Iver is a Greasy Weeb (I was doing some fun vocoder stuff). It’s probably good we ended up going with the first. This track feels like a melting point for the album.
Offering a deep sonic palette that matches Armstrong’s artistic ambition, My Guardian Angel was produced by Chris Coady, moving between pop-punk, romantic new-wave and shimmery synth-pop to spotlight Armstrong’s songwriting talent, alongside the musicianship of band members Kevin Judd and brothers Chris and Enzo Malaspina.
The band have also been confirmed to support Wavves and Cloud Nothings on their US tour dates.
The new track follows on from previous single, Klepto, the third to be taken from their upcoming debut album, My Guardian Angel, which is set for release on June 9th via Royal Mountain Records.
The indie synth-pop-inspired number was an older track that had resurfaced, inspired by Eastern European post-punk bands yet drowned in reverb and drum machines.
Klepto presents itself as a jumping-off point for the album, which was written soon after a number of traumatic events had occurred for the band – which then allowed My Guardian Angel to become like therapy.
The single arrives accompanied by its incredible animated music video, written and directed by Kingcon2k11.
My Guardian Angel is set to offer a deep sonic palette which matches that of frontman Jakob Armstrong’s ambition, displaying his mastered songwriting talent whilst spotlighting the musician of band members Kevin Judd, and brothers Chris and Enzo Malaspina.
The track follows on from last years single, I Watched Them Go, the first release since their successful EP, Get Yourself A Friend, which was released in 2021.
Presenting itself as the band’s first pop song, I Watched Them Go aims to represent everything that the four-piece is supposed to be, it’s catchy, striking and beautiful, yet finds itself perfectly placed in the left field allowing itself to be unexpected for previous fans.
Speaking of the track, Jakob Armstrong (youngest son of Green Day’s Billie Joe Armstrong) states:
‘‘I Watched Them Go” is Ultra Q’s first pop song. At the same time, though, it represents everything that UQ is supposed to be. It’s catchy, outrageous, and beautiful, but it lands just enough in left field to be unexpected for our fans. We think this is the perfect single because while it’s definitely extreme, it’ll find a home in our fans. Both old and new.
Made up of Jakob Armstrong, the son of Green Day’s Billie Joe, brothers Chris and Enzo Malaspina and Kevin Judd, Ultra Q have already received support from the likes of NME, Rolling Stone, BBC Radio 1, CLASH, Hypebeast and many more.