Ugly Kids Club

Nashville duo Ugly Kids Club—singer Aliegh Shields and producer Steve Wilson—cite noisy underground duos like Sleigh Bells and Crystal Castles as some of their main influences, but on their new single “I Wanna Be Bad” mixes in a lot of Top 40 pop sugar with their high-density electronics. The result sounds a little like Katy Perry fronting a digital reproduction of an ’80s arena rock band, and although it’s coming in a little late in the season, it might have just enough summer song vibes to make you forget that fact.
Their album Head Games is out Sept. 30. - Entertainment Weekly

Head into the weekend with the fifteen new tracks floating our musical boat – including a Warpaint disco makeover, the superb new single from alt-j, Paws covering Le Tigre, Elaine Mai and Reid remixing Youth Mass and Sleep Thieves, the Electric Picnic bound Phox, the return of Kill City Defectors and more. - State.

Pop music can be introspective and quiet and deal with the darker emotional aspects of our personalities, but that doesn't always have to be the case. For Nashville duo Ugly Kids Club (AKA Aliegh Shields and Steve Wilson), pop music can be buoyant and extroverted; and on their latest EP, "Head Games," which is set for a Sept. 20 release, the group digs through the verdant synth-pop rhythms of bands like Sleigh Bells and Crystal Castles while maintaining their own gossamer aesthetic. This is pop music with a brain and complete nervous system.

On recent single "I Wanna Be Bad," they forge a path through a familiar swathe of bright synth-pop melodies and swaying instrumentation. Shields' ethereal voice and Wilson's exacting production call to mind the grandiose, shimmering arena pop of the '80s but without the heartless commercial push that was all too common then. There is a heart beneath these synthetic sounds, and it shakes and rattles your ribcage, and you'll find yourself humming along before you hit the second chorus. - Nooga.com

Check out our exclusive song premiere of Ugly Kids Club‘s newest track, “Good Love,” from their upcoming EP Head Games, out September 30! - See more at: http://vinylmag.org/2014/08/12/song-premiere-ugly-kids-club-good-love/#sthash.XhSaUEU2.dpuf - Vinyl Mag

If you’re a big fan of catchy 80’s flavored synthpop music, add Ugly Kids Club to your rotation of new bands to enjoy. The Nashville electropop duo debuted a new track named I Wanna Be Bad on Entertainment Weekly this week, and it’s a tasty BROODS meets Taylor Swift pop treat, with a healthy side of grunge driven grittiness. I Wanna Be Bad will be on the duo’s self-released Head Game EP, out September 30. - I Heart Moosiq

Despite a cheeky name, the duo behind Ugly Kids Club are anything but unattractive folks.
Ugly Kids Club

The same could be said of their muscular, insolent electro-pop repertoire. Singer Aliegh Shields and producer Steve Wilson are working with flavors not all too common to Nashville music circles — the chorusing, power-compressed vocals of '90s Madonna, caustic synth salvos and beefy drum tracks that offer glimpses of The Faint and M83. Although Shields began working with Wilson in 2011 through her early singer-songwriter efforts, the two quickly decided to throw caution to the wind and lead the way for a wave of modern electronic pop music in a city obsessed with things antique and classic.
Ugly Kids Club

While Aliegh is a young vocal talent, Steve is no stranger to electronic music and has a considerable production catalog under his belt. The experience shows in the ease with which he navigates the hook-laden architecture of each compact pop structure, and Shields chimes in with calculated, tough vocals. The band's supremely danceable new single "Good Love" is the pinnacle of their efforts thus far, and its DNA-level appeal hasn't gone unnoticed. Vinyl Magazine premiered the track earlier this month, and it also shows up alongside joints from alt-J and Warpaint in State Magazine's August mixtape. Looks like The Deli magazine has also nominated them for its Artist of the Month, so go ahead and cast your vote.


Ugly Kids Club makes no apologies for its Gen X mementos, and are wasting no time in rallying those who feel the same way. New Wave high school goth attitude makes an occasional appearance, along with a little dot-com boom rhetorical rebellion — all dunked soundly in a pool of insatiable coming-of-age wonderment. Naive? Perhaps. But it revels in its naiveté just like our favorite '90s movies revel in a time when every feeling was earth-shattering, impudence was exciting, and love and partying were both a little dangerous. Wilson knows his way around the pop formula and Shields works the performance angle with a confidence that belies her youth.

In the analog-worshipping world of Nashville, Ugly Kids Club are determined to spread the news that a good sparkly electro-pop song is fun for everyone — whether they know it or not. The duo knows that the urge to dance is hard-coded into even the most stubborn traditionalists and gleefully pushes all those buttons with total knowledge and intent. Not convinced?

Find out for yourself at The High Watt on August 26th, where they will be playing with fellow locals Lylas and Field Days. - 12th & Broad

One word. Special… Music like this is trend setting and it stands alone. Us here at Get Heard Music can’t wait to work with them in the very near future. - Getheardmusic.com

Fans of Chvrches should give a listen to the new EP by Nashville's Ugly Kids Club, Head Games.

Ugly Kids Club may not be the most flattering of band names, but make no mistake: there is little ugly in the music by this up-and-coming Nashville duo. Comprised of Aliegh Shields and rock producer Steve Wilson (no relation to the prog musician of the same name), Ugly Kids Club is an ultra-catchy conglomeration of synth-pop and electro influences, very much a product of its synth-obsessed times. The duo’s new EP, Head Games, can be streamed below.

Wilson tells PopMatters, “We put a lot of time and development into this project and, we are so proud of where it ended up. We definitely feel like we branched out and let ourselves take influence from more of the pop and electronic world, through current artists we respect like Grimes, Drake, Sia, Zedd and Sky Ferreria. Head Games is definitely the best thing we’ve done so far, and we’ve loved the journey leading up to this point. We believe we’ve landed on something great that is really ‘us’ and we’re excited to see where it takes us and what’s next. For our fans and potential fans, we hope this EP connects with them, even if it is only to brighten their day for a few minutes, or 13 minutes and 43 seconds.” - PopMatters