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. Always a home for the varied and eclectic, this selection is no exception. In this – hopefully entertaining – batch, we bring you some solid sounding shoegaze, some synth based alt-pop from New Zealand, some hazy sounding indie folk and even a nod to big band swing sounds. As always, we hope you find something new to enjoy!
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Latching on to a slow beat at the outset, Newmoon’s ‘Finding Phase’ makes no secret of its moody style, but despite a downbeat feel, the track has something beautiful within. A world of reverb adds echoes to the track’s brilliantly 90s guitar lines during the verse, sharing a dream pop influence against an other-worldly indie infused vocal, pulling in the listener slowly. Then, when Newmoon know the time is right, they unveil a wall of shoegaze distortion, further boosting a retro sound. Still More melodic than the likes of A Place To Bury Strangers, but conveying a genuine intensity, the huge sound taps into something classic. Overall, this two pronged tune might sound like something you’ve heard before, but the band share their hazy melodies and intensive riffs with such conviction, it’s hard not to love it.
With a combination of hard-edged beats and shimmering guitar, ‘Gossip In Your Head’ by Robots In Love offers a more modern twist on a very retro sound. Between its mechanised rhythm and a gentle vocal, the single has a brilliant musical juxtaposition throughout, and when a wall of wordless harmonies is presented as a simple hook, it pulls the listener even further into a world of beautifully cold alt-pop. Occasionally reminiscent of a light industrial Dubstar, it’s the kind of single that could attract a disparate group of listeners, despite leaning towards gentle electronica with vaguely gothy overtones.
Back in July ’23, Aussie rockers Palace of The King released ‘Children of The Revolution’, a hard rocking single that had a faint air of material by The Dead Daisies. They’re back with something even punchier! ‘Tear It Down’ plays like the ultimate tribute to early Rose Tattoo with its chopping rhythms and sneering vocals, but there’s also a hefty nod to Bon Scott era AC/DC in the between verse riffs, and a slightly gentler chorus applied for a melodic balance. Overall, it’s a track that demonstrates the band’s gifts for riffs with ease, and the track’s gritty style is one that just never gets old. Crank the volume for best results.
Keeping on an Australian theme, Murphnick returns with a new track ‘On A Quiet Day’, which couldn’t be any more different than his previous ‘Double Agent’ if it tried. Trading in the previous hazy 60s sounds, this single finds the singer songwriter dabbling in what’s already been dubbed “cosmic country”. Armed with a heavily strummed rhythm, the melody sounds like a backporch hoe-down, but layers of bright sounding guitar and a quieter vocal led interlude bring the tune further in line with the country rock experiments by The Byrds and New Riders of The Purple Sage. The end result sounds decades old, even at the time of release, but by opting for something so retro, it should click with fans of the style immediately.
A different kind of country vibe cuts through the centre of The Last Hurrah!!’s ‘Dusty Road’. The Norwegian musician digs deeply into old style Americana on a tune that’s loaded with hard strummed acoustics and a crying steel. It isn’t a million miles away from the more country-fied tunes from The Matinee, but a deeper, richer vocal gives the track a much older soul, and a chorus dripping with lax harmonies boosts a very laid back feel. It doesn’t sound like a track that emerged during the last quarter of 2023, but in many ways, that makes it so much better.
Going for a really mellow mood, ‘Affalon’ by Awst mixes lo-fi folk with light psychedelic vocals and serves a hazy and almost otherworldly sound brilliantly. The end result sounds like an old M. Ward tune redrawn by The Flaming Lips, and its combo of gentle acoustic sounds and almost Hawaiian sounding lead guitars captures a 60s via 90s very effectively. It’s a track that mightn’t seem immediately catchy, but has plenty of charm. In terms of singles, its soft, melodic core should win over fans of left of centre singer songwriter material in time.
They’ve got a Ramones obsession, they more than occasionally write vulgar songs, and they spell “Gudbye” like Slade… The world of Jonesy can be uber trashy, but it’s also a world populated by very solid garage rock riffs. On ‘(I Don’t Do) Blondes (No More)’, their love of garage based sounds never sounded better. Armed with guitar parts worthy of New York Dolls, a swaggering attitude borrowed from The Dictators and a rousing rock ‘n’ roll piano, everything within this three minutes is great. The ragged sounds occasionally veer towards a very Ramones inspired melody; the gang vocals bolster an already great sound, and moments of lead guitar used as a bridge suggest an equally big love of a 60s twang. There’s a whole world of trashy noise to love here.
Do you remember that period in the early 00’s when big band swing became popular again, and bands like The Atomic Fireballs and Royal Crown Revue found themselves on punk bills at festivals? Pierre Omer certainly does, and with his Swing Revue he’s set to bring you a world of 50s riffs as if they’ve never been away. Set against a huge drum shuffle, the number shares a crooned vocal and muted guitar, which power a speed driven number where the old dancehall sounds are augmented by trumpet and a strident upright bass. Although the production values give away its modern stance, arrangement-wise, it’s pretty spot on.
November 2023