THE REAL GONE SINGLES BAR #40

Welcome back to the Real Gone Singles Bar, the place where we explore some of the individual mp3s that have landed in our inbox over the previous few weeks. Our popular feature continues to gain attention and we’ve had a flood of submissions this week. Picking a few of the best, as always, we’ve attempted to bring you a variety of sounds, from punky power pop to a soul/rap crossover, from indie rock to an unexpected Japanese arty piece. Hopefully, these choices capture the quirkiness we always aim to bring…and we hope you find something to enjoy!

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JEREMY PORTER AND THE TUCOS – Five Foot Three & Tiger Eyes / While You Spiral

Jeremy Porter’s 2016 EP ‘Barrel of Tears’ was a three track gem. Its two original cuts shared some great guitar driven rock pop that harked back to the slightly rootsier end of the 90s, and the big hooks showed a huge love for material from the Soul Asylum and Kevin Salem catalogues. Best of all though, the release shared a superb cover of ‘Blue Letter’, a tune best remembered in its Fleetwood Mac incarnation from ’75, given slightly more of a country rock twang, and showing off Jeremy and The Tuco’s gifts for tight melodies with ease.

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THE REAL GONE SINGLES BAR: A NEW YEAR’S EVE LOCK IN 2023

After launching the Real Gone Singles Bar in June 2023, we found ourselves covering an even broader range of music than before. It became a natural home for anything that mightn’t see a follow up album, or music that, perhaps, might not lead to a full review. The popular feature also became an easy way to introduce people to new music, and our inbox became very busy. Naturally, by limiting the feature to eight tracks per week, not everything made the cut. In fairness, not everything deserved to, but we heard a lot of stuff that was too good to not share.

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JOHN DUNBAR – What A Difference Indifference Makes

John Dunbar is a busy man. Between the beginning of 2020 and the end of 2023, he released two solo albums filled with retro pop, another two as a member of The John Sally Ride – a similar sounding pop outfit fond of humorous song titles (‘See Emily Work’, ‘Sheena Is A Prog Rocker’, ‘I Won’t Let Failure Go To My Head’) – and two more as Elvis Eno, exploring more experimental lo-fi work. Despite six albums and a bunch of one off singles appearing within a four year period, chances are, his name still isn’t familiar to you.

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The Real Gone End of Year Round-Up 2023

We seem to say it every December, but this year has gone so quickly. We’ve fit a lot into twelve months, of course. Over the last twelve months, Real Gone has picked up a truckload of new followers and regular visitors; we’ve discovered new bands, reconnected with a couple of familiar faces, and given more column inches to old favourites.

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