Brighton based and Guernsey born retro-rockers Of Empires have just completed their latest mini-tour of the UK, including their much delayed first foray north to Manchester, and to cap it off have released their new ‘double A-side’ single Waist Up In Gold/Gunslingers (oh for it to be a real double a-side 7″ single) the follow-up to last year’s See You With The Angels Kid EP.

With the twang of a Sergio Leone spaghetti western mixed with psychedelic surf rock, Waist Up In Gold launches out the gate at quite a pace as the band (Singer Jack Fletcher, guitarist Matthew Berry, bassist Liam Bewey and drummer George Le Page) continue their exploration of the sounds of the later 1960s, before slowing down into their more familiar groove.

As it goes the groove evokes the feel of the dark side of a lost Los Angeles, particularly surprising for a band based so far from there. It’s a sound from the wrong side of the tracks but polished to perfection, like a Beat Generation Hobo dressed up in a three-piece suit wandering the streets of Venice Beach.

Gunslingers then sends us deeper than ever into Of Empires trademark ‘reverb drenched’ sound, possibly a little too far, as it all becomes somewhat unintelligible, but does retain that strong, essential, groove.

With a haunting edge I get the feeling this is Of Empires take on what the Rolling Stones did with Gimme Shelter and it shows the band are still more than capable of rocking out when they want to with a real sense of fight cutting through.

On this double a-side then Of Empires continue to refine their sound by heading back to the roots of garage rock and bringing to it their own 21st century outlook.

The single is available from Friday 9th March on Idle Times Records through Apple iTunes and Spotify