Melbourne rock machine The Ugly Kings are preparing to unveil their latest album Strange, Strange Times on Friday 13.
The album is a sonic journey detailing the tough times we live in currently, with a blending of blues, grit and rock setting the tone for a bleak outlook where music is the only savior.
Guitarist Christos sat down with HEAVY to discuss the album, staring with the recently released title track and why it is the perfect introduction into the descent into madness that follows.
"The song itself has been quite a journey, actually,” he explained. “That and the second song on the album Technodrone we had written almost as one medley song before playing around with the riffs on both parts and then Strange, Strange Times evolved to what it is now. From a lyrical sense it summarises the album, and the existential anxiety we live in right now and modern life in general. It’s not representative of COVID or anything, it just represents our current, modern times. What we found both musically and lyrically is the song is a journey. It's got qui9te a few changes within it, it’s got a large riff intro and then goes into the melodic elements that we have developed as a band and some quirky changes as well. We felt musically it’s a journey, lyrically it's a journey, and when we were tossing up the track order of the album and because this album from an art perspective and lyrical perspective and a music perspective it's almost like a book. We thought having the title track first as the title of the book you're about to embark on makes total sense."
In the full interview, Christos discusses the album in greater detail, their blending of genres and how it works, focusing on the local market in these uneasy times of touring, the overall feel of Strange, Strange Times and more.