THE REAL GONE SINGLES BAR #173

Posted on September 10, 2026 by Real Gone

This visit to the Real Gone Singles Bar sees the return of a cult band from the US, throws a spotlight onto a couple of superb indie pop bands and celebrates a pair of very different singer-songwriters. The eight picks represent just the tiniest fraction of submissions for the past fortnight, which should give some indication of how much new music is being shared as we head into autumn – traditionally one of the year’s busiest periods. We can promise a lot more good stuff to be unearthed from the current batch over the next fortnight, but in the meantime, we hope this selection fills your ears with something enjoyable…

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FROM UNDER CONCRETE KINGS – Impulse Tension EP

Posted on September 9, 2026 by Real Gone

Back in those dismal days of the 2020 pandemic and everything going into lockdown, the world had no end of great music to provide in-home entertainment. One of that year’s more interesting metal releases came from From Under Concrete Kings (you have to wonder how many different combinations of words were considered to create that acronym), which mixed elements of hardcore and groove metal with the artiness of bands like Between The Buried & Me to share something that not only had a great energy, but was far less predictable than “the norm”.

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Listen: Goat Major unleash new track ‘Under The Moonlight’

Posted on September 8, 2026 by Real Gone

Those keeping a close ear on the UK metal scene over the past year should have already encountered occult/stoner/doom band Goat Major. The Welsh band have released an EP and album absolutely loaded with great material, and by drawing from classic influences ranging from Sabbath, Kyuss, Witch Charmer, Down and other top drawer doomy fare, they’ve tapped into a classic, retro sound that will never get old.

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EDDIE SKULLER – Blind Love EP

Posted on September 7, 2026 by Real Gone

For the uninitiated, the Tom Waits catalogue can seem rather daunting. Not only is Tom blessed with a sometimes challenging voice, but his albums have seen the legendary singer songwriter’s style change over time. His earliest albums present him as the ultimate bar room balladeer with a relatively clean voice; over the course of the 70s, his delivery becomes more ragged, more obtuse even, despite the core style of the music remaining the same. Into the 80s, Tom began to channel Kurt Weill and his music became more interesting, more rhythmic, a world away from the man who gave us ‘Ol’ 55’. By the end of the 90s and beyond, Waits almost sounded like a man working within a universe of his own: fans were as likely to hear him shouting his way through something in German to a musical backdrop deserving of a pirate shanty as they were to hear him storytelling at the piano.

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Listen: Kabuki Love introduce ‘The Wolf Dance’

Posted on September 6, 2026 by Real Gone

During the dark days of the 2020 lockdown, Kabuki Love released the ‘Psychosomatic’ EP, which featured ‘Spare Me’, a recording that dug deeply to revive a strong influence from 80s goth bands. Throughout the number, the guitars adopted the huge ringing tones of ‘Dreamtime’ era Cult, and rhythmically, everything pulled from the more commercial elements of Bauhaus to create something that felt like the ultimate throwback. In many ways, this became one of the band’s flagship tracks, capturing a toughness and a melodic edge that worked together to showcase musicians who clearly understood that things didn’t need to be overly complex to be interesting.

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