Philadelphia-based rockers Soraia recently dropped their cover of Blondie classic “Union City Blue.” And we’re proud to premiere the official music video for the ZouZou Mansour-led garage rockers’ take on the legendary power pop track. The clip was shot by local videographer Tom Quigley at Boom Room in Fishtown, across the street from Kung Fu Necktie (where Soraia have played many memorable shows). Upon the single’s release, Mansour explained her love of the particular track, which originally appeared on Blondie’s 1979 fourth full-length, Eat to the Beat.
“I’ve wanted to cover ‘Union City Blue’ since I first heard it on the Sid and Nancy soundtrack album I bought back in 2016. I loved that movie–starring Gary Oldman and Chloe Webb. We were in Sweden touring in fall 2023, and decided that was the time to do it. We self-produced the song this time, bringing more of a ‘We Got The Beat’ vibe to the tempo and approach. Hope you dig it!”
“Union City Blue” follows recent single “Bang Them Bones,” which dropped this March, courtesy of Little Steven’s Wicked Cool Records, Soraia’s home since 2017’s Dead Reckoning. The band have had a steady stream of live shows since the spring (including a slot on The Wicked Cool Records Revue, alongside Slim Jim Phantom & The Wildcats, The Chesterfield Kings, and Cocktail Slippers) and currently have a plethora of dates lined up throughout July and September (including a July 23rd stop at MilkBoy, amidst a run supporting our mutual buddies and their labelmates, The Dollyrots).
Soraia’s summer dates kick off this coming Saturday, June 8th, as part of the 8th Annual Wayne Music Festival, a free, multi-stage music festival in Wayne, PA, which will also feature our good phriend Margaret Glaspy. Check out Soraia’s latest video, plan your trips to their upcoming area appearances, and read my summer 2022 chat with ZouZou Mansour, prior to the release of the band’s most recent LP, 2022’s Bloom, and their last time playing Philthy alongside The Dollyrots.
*Get your tickets to see Soraia 7/23 at MilkBoy w/ The Dollyrots here.
