The Urban Voodoo Machine / January Blues & Rhinestone Cowboy

After saying Goodbye To Another Year over the festive holiday in true UVM fashion, The Urban Voodoo Machine kick off the new year with January Blues – a bittersweet take on letting go of the past and facing up to what the coming months have on offer. On the flipside is the band’s London/Soho-centric take on the classic Rhinestone Cowboy in memory of the recent passing of country legend Glen Campbell. The single marks the opening shot for the band’s upcoming album 15 Shots From The Urban Voodoo Machine, which celebrates the band’s 15-year anniversary and features all the UVM single releases including their latest January Blues.
Beginning with a lonesome guitar and frontman Paul-Ronney Angel’s whiskey drenched vocal, January Blues builds up to an chaotic climax as the rest of the band join in to create a raucous anthem for the downtrodden and ripped off. It’s a mash-up of guitars, drums, upright bass, horns, violin, piano, accordion, bouzouki, Hammond organ and more.
Despite the instrumentation, Angel insists that “we’re not Americana and we’re definitely not
retro… I write songs about living in London right now. Although having a s**t time, no money, heartbreak, mental illness, addiction and suppression from ‘the big guy’ is kinda universal and timeless.”

Looking further into the band’s history, it’s little surprise that frontman Paul-Ronney Angel takes such a bleak view, having lost guitarist Nick Marsh to throat cancer and violinist Rob Skipper to an accidental heroin overdose in recent years. Combined with a world that looks to be heading ever faster toward Armageddon, January Blues references recent events such as Brexit and the election of Trump – “Here comes the inauguration…morons sweeping through the nations”.
Having played Glastonbury, Download, Latitude, Bestival and Hard Rock Calling, toured with The Pogues, the New York Dolls plus received love & support from Radio 2’s Paul Jones & Huey Morgan, 6Music’s Gideon Coe & Chris Hawkins, the Guardian, Q Mag, Classic Rock and Vive Le Rock for their previous albums, The Urban Voodoo Machine enter the new year as one of the greatest live acts in the country – terrifyingly bizarre, hysterically funny, a riot for the eyes and sensation for the ears, determined to stand up to ‘The Man’ and overcome all negative aspects of Brexit, austerity, division, fear and the threat to live music venues across the land. Never fear though, The Urban Voodoo Machine ain’t going nowhere! Please check their website for their ever busy touring schedule to find a gig near you.

www.theurbanvoodoomachine.com