JOHN MELLENCAMP – Johnny Cougar: The Mainman Recordings 1976-1977

As far as many people in the UK are concerned, John Mellencamp burst onto the music scene in 1982 with his radio hit ‘Jack & Diane’, but by the time that was loved by the masses and its parent album ‘American Fool’ was a success on both sides of the Atlantic, Bloomington’s most famous export had been building a career for several years. Previous albums ‘John Cougar’ (1979) and ‘Nothing Matters & What If It Did’ had seen some success stateside, but Mellencamp’s musical roots actually stretch back even further. In the mid 70s, he signed with the management company Mainman (a company who had David Bowie and Mick Ronson on their books) and recorded three albums’ worth of material in a very short period that, over the years, has been somewhat overlooked.

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THE REAL GONE SINGLES BAR #148

With new tracks from a couple of the indie scene’s UK/Irish leading lights and a Bristol based guitar driven band who’ve already attained cult status, this visit to the Singles Bar feels rather weighted towards jangly material and swirly shoegaze sounds, but with a very retro sounding track that fuses blues rock with prog flourishes and a dreamy number from a French singer-songwriter, there’s a sharp contrast too, helping to keep the usual love of shining a light upon the most cult of artists. Bolstered by an unexpected reissue from the 80s and a lo-fi workout that could split opinion, it’s certainly an interesting selection this time around. As always, of course, we hope you find something new to enjoy!

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NIGHT THIEVES – Metaxis

Two years on from their acclaimed EP release ‘Polarity’, Night Thieves build upon an already solid alt-metal sound when parts of their eagerly awaited full length ‘Metaxis’ take a chunkier turn. The grooves and beat laden melodies that made the EP so appealing are still present, and Jess Moyle’s vocals retain their hugely accessible sound, but the best of this album’s songs present a more confident sounding unit.

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LOVINA FALLS – Would That It Were EP

Valerie Forgione – aka Lovina Falls – creates a strange and sometimes dream-like world on her 2025 EP ‘Would That It Were’. Its five tracks create a great extension of the sounds shared on 2023’s ‘Calculating The Angle of Our Descent’, bending pop, synth, dream pop and melodic 90s influences into new shapes, on material that invites its audience to listen closely.

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Listen: Shapes Like People share ‘Lately’, a great new single ahead of an album release

Those paying attention to the UK’s indie, shoegaze and dream pop scenes early in 2026 might have already discovered ‘Find Me There’, a fantastic track from Wiltshire based Shapes Like People. A fantastic single that sounded like the perfect dream pop throwback to 1993/1994 with its Cocteau Twins inspired shimmering guitar lines and clean vocals, it suggested that the upcoming Shapes Like People album would potentially be great.

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