The promotional cycle for Shannon Smith’s debut album ‘Out of The Shadows’ didn’t take a standard route by any means. Looking beyond the typical approach of “let’s release a couple of singles over a couple of months, then get the album onto the streamers” favoured by so many in 2025, Smith started the ball rolling far earlier. His first single, the fantastic ‘Dance The Night Away’, appeared in late 2023, almost eighteen months before it was clear an album would be forthcoming.
Named “Guitarist of The Year 2025” by Roadie Crew Magazine, Silas Fernandes is the embodiment of all of those fretboard shredders you loved in the early 90s. His current EP ‘Carbon Purge Acceleration’ presents a half dozen very heavy instrumental workouts, each of which help to showcase his explosive style.
On their 2024 release ‘Fun Time’, Mala Vista tore through nine tracks of relatively no nonsense, guitar driven material that carried the spirit of ’77 and the sounds of CBGB’s into the twenty first century. Although always more melodic than their fellow countrymen Lower Class Brats and The Casualties when approaching punk, at the release’s best, Mala Vista still conveyed a rough and ready sound. Maybe more importantly, it showed they could whip up some great arrangements: ‘Juana Le Cubana’ took a detour from punk into garage rock and power pop that sounded like an unreleased Real Kids number, and a couple of other tracks shared punk ‘n’ roll lead guitar breaks, proving further that classic sounds never really goes out of style.
Welcome back to the Real Gone Singles Bar, the place where we explore some of the more interesting individual tracks that have landed in our inbox over the previous couple of weeks. This time out, we bring you a near perfect piece of acid jazz, the return of an emerging singer songwriter, some retro rock from Ireland, a familiar voice from the US punk scene with a great side-project, and more besides… As always, we hope you find something new to enjoy!
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Mercury’s Antennae are one of those bands who have a natural affinity with a very 80s inspired goth sound. Their ‘Among The Black Trees’ album (released in March 2025) presented nine tracks with a cold yet inviting sound, often heavily dipped in the waters of nostalgia. However, with goth sounds so well played, the release was impossible to resist. The Sisters of Mercy-esque ‘The Reflecting Skin’, Cocteau Twins tinged ‘As I Lay Hidden (Deer Island)’ and the stripped back, haunting tones of ‘Language of The Stars’, in particular, stood out, forming a trio of tracks that were among the band’s very best.