Ultra Beauty come from the same Washington, DC punk scene that birthed great bands like Priests and Flasher. They’re signed to the former’s Sister Polygon label, and the latter’s Daniel Saperstein recorded their upcoming debut EP alongside Big Hush’s Owen Wuerker. And Ultra Beauty, a trio made up of guitarist Raina Martens, drummer Madeline Joey Rose, and Saturday Night bassist Luke Reddick, take those gritty punk aesthetics and political ideals and apply them to honest-to-god pop music.

The result of that marriage is their six-track self-titled EP, set to arrive next month on Sister Polygon. Over the course of those six tracks, Ultra Beauty move from seasick post-punk to tender guitar-pop. Today, they’re sharing “Get Pure,” one of the more striking and immediate tracks from the whole EP. The song pairs a wiry guitar line with a confident vocal performance from Rose, coming together as pop music for an apocalyptic era.

“We stumbled across the phrase ‘get pure’ in an archeological dig through a sea of computer generated trash text,” the band explain in a statement. “The phrase’s demand grabbed our attention and spoke to our own meditations on the violence of the politics of purity that prevails in so much conversation about wellness, sexuality, and environmentalism. The song explores attempts to embody and articulate authentic desire amidst pressure from internal and external shame and judgement. How do we turn our desire from a hijacked weapon of violence to an embodied practice of being our full freaky selves with each other?” Listen below.

TOUR DATES:
all shows Ultra Beauty with Hothead unless otherwise noted
8/7 CHAPEL HILL Nightlight w/ Stevie, Weird God
8/8 GREENSBORO Fantasy Ultra Lounge w/ ODV, more
8/9 ASHEVILLE Trade & Lore w/ Minorcan
8/10 ULTRA BEAUTY ONLY – Athens Popfest @ Little Kings Shuffle Club (set time 2:45)
8/11 HOTHEAD ONLY – Athens Popfest @ Little Kings Shuffle Club (set time 3:30)
8/11 ATLANTA TBA
8/12 BIRMINGHAM Firehouse w/ The Bouquets
8/13 NASHVILLE The Move w/ Donors
8/14 KNOXVILLE Pilot Light w/ TBA
8/15 CHARLESTON WV Makeshop @ MESH w/ Suggested Friends, Sea Shrine, Slater

The self-titled Ultra Beauty EP is out 8/24 via Sister Polygon. Pre-order it here.

CREDIT: Sami Cola