Ultra Q Announce Debut Album, Unveil New Single ‘VR Sex

Ultra Q have released their raucous new single “VR Sex” from their upcoming debut album My Guardian Angel out June 9th via Royal Mountain Records.

The song premiered earlier today (Jan. 31) via Jack Saunders on BBC Radio 1. Unlike the previous single “I Watched Them Go” this one is closer to the band’s scrappy punk rock roots. It’s an energetic head-banger that’s a rush of adrenaline when the guitars and drums crash together in perfect harmony.

Speaking about the new song in a press release singer Jakob Armstrong says “‘VR Sex’ was the last song I wrote for this album. By the end of the writing process, I really didn’t have any idea what this record was going to be. Stylistically, It was mostly leaning toward shoegaze / dreampop with a few outliers here and there. When you write this many songs over a long period of time, eventually your taste is going to change and your interest will wane.”

He continues, “This is the point where I rediscovered my love for MCR, specifically the second album. I wanted so badly to have an emo ripper on the record but I didn’t really think it could fit. After some demoing, I decided that I really needed to write this song. It deals with the period of time shortly after a close friend nearly passed in a car accident. In a way, this event was the catalyst for many topics on this album and writing about it was an extremely cathartic way to end the album process.”

Watch the video below.

Produced by Chris Coady (TV on the Radio, Yeah Yeah Yeahs) a press release describes My Guardian Angel as ” a deep sonic palette to match Armstrong’s artistic ambition. Wildly vacillating between widescreen pop-punk (“Klepto,” the impeccably titled “VR Sex”), romantic new-wave (“Rocket,” “I Wanna Lose”), and shimmering synth-pop (“I Watched Them Go”), the album displays Armstrong’s songwriting talents—along with the musicianship of Kevin Judd and brothers Chris and Enzo Malaspina—conceived and recorded for maximum impact.”

It continues “Emotional growing pains, sleepless nights, the ethereal allure of romance, and the notion of sound being so closely attached to memory are all wrapped up in clever guitar interplay reminiscent of the band’s formative influences, but delivered in an identity all their own. The words are attached to feelings we think are going to slip away from us in the fading and tarnished pallor of adulthood; truth be told, those feelings emerge just as freshly the older we get.”

Check out the album art and tracklisting below. Pre-order My Guardian Angel here.

Ultra Q will embark on a brief California tour in support of the new album with Together Pangea. The tour kicks off March 16th in Ventura and wraps up March 26th in Fresno. Tickets on sale now.

Artwork:

Tracklisting:

1. Saturday
2. VR Sex
3. Rocket
4. I Watched Them Go
5. Web Web Web
6. Klepto
7. Slope
8. Wrip
9. So Very Emo
10. I Wanna Lose
11. Teether
12. Dark Green

Ultra Q 2023 tour dates:

03/16 – Ventura Music Hall – Ventura, CA
03/17 – Soma Sidestage – San Diego, CA
03/18 – Last Exit – Phoenix, AZ
03/22 – Treefort Festival – Boise, ID
03/23 – Holland Project – Reno, CA
03/24 – Harlow’s – Sacramento, CA
03/25 – The Ritz – San Jose, CA
03/26 – Strummer’s – Fresno, CA

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