ULTERIOR / SEX WAR SEX CARS SEX

It's not difficult to see where Ulterior are coming from nowadays. In the video (watch it underneath) for their new single 'Sex War Sex Cars Sex' the five of them are strobelit demons in black leather - presumably sweat-soaked hand-me-downs from the Manic Street Preachers, Ministry, Spacemen 3, The Sisters of Mercy, The Jesus & Mary Chain, and Suicide, since traces of all of the above are perceptible in the blinding noise that's synthesised, crunched and chewed, and spat out by the chugging mechanical pulse which lurches from the speakers. That said, although the influences are clear, pointing them out seems a bit petty because the whole thing's rather convincing. There are a heap of potential problems with the whole 'rock band' thing - it's pretty easy to talk like Iggy Pop and very, very difficult to fit into his jeans - but Ulterior avoid the pitfalls by basically just being really good and making it look pretty much effortless. 'Sex War Sex Cars Sex' is a brutal alternating motor of a song, the only refrain a gut-punch chanting of the one-track-mind title. Get the 7" (released on the band's own Speed label) exclusively from Rough Trade on 1st November. Watch the video. Contemplate digging out the biker jacket gathering dust in your wardrobe, then decide that sort of thing is probably left to the experts. Play the record at full volume. And look forward to the album, which is out early next year.