Welcome back to the Real Gone Singles Bar, the place where we explore some of the individual tracks that have landed in our inbox over the past few weeks. For lovers of acoustic sounds, there’s a real treat to kick off this week’s batch. You’ll also find a decent slice of metal, a dark themed cover tune, a cool guitar based instrumental and more. As always, we hope you find something new to enjoy!
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In 2023, Trashcan Sinatras frontman John Douglas released his long awaited solo debut. Rooted in acoustic based material, the eponymously named record allowed fans to experience a much more introspective performer. His version of the Tom Waits classic ‘Johnsburg, Illinois’ – a key track from John’s 2024 EP ‘Still Or Sparkling?’ – has a similarly heartfelt quality. The recording’s perfect acoustic guitar work is augmented by accordion, which ensures this recording manages to keep the very European flavour of the original cut. The main melody remains unchanged, but it’s certainly not a “phoned in” performance. For those who’ve maybe struggled with Tom’s growling over the years, it is a real treat, since Douglas gets right to the song’s emotional core, and his soaring voice almost sounds as if it’s waiting to crack when delivering an unapologetically sad melody. A truly great and unexpected cover.
As suggested by the title, ‘No Fighting In Doo-Wop’ by Tooth Gore celebrates a very retro sound. The single’s verses mix classic elements of garage rock with a perfect surf rock melody that allows a vocal to bring something accessible, despite being fuzzed up to hell. The strident tune sounds like early Weezer channelling old Spector works, and is immediately great. The magic really happens when Tooth Gore unleashes a belated hook, however, when the vocal bursts forth with a classic doo-wop influence straight from a world of pre-Beatle coolness. Then, using the title for a final slam-dunk, the blend of distortion and melody comes into its own, creating something that’s massively catchy. Overall, this is a superb four minute treat.
Realising he was in possession of a melody that worked in a stripped down format, Daniel Schamroth’s ‘Skyscraper’ reaches his intended audience as a “home demo”, but his combo of voice and guitar sounds rich and natural in a way that would ultimately be spoilt, had a full band been applied. The acoustic chords are broad, conveying the sounds of the singer-songwriters that came to prominence in the 90s (there’s more than a pinch of Andrew Hyra & Kristian Bush here) and Daniel’s vocal manages to convey a genuine confidence throughout. There are no weak links, either musically or lyrically, but the way the performer uses his voice to deliver a few huge notes on the chorus hook really helps this track stand out. It might all feel familiar and value a simple approach, but for fans of the style, it’ll definitely impress.
With its stomping rhythm and twangy guitars acting as dominant features throughout, the musical basis of The Sunset Donkeys’ ‘Setting It All On Fire’ captures the drive of the mid 70s Stones, along with some of the grubbier bar room elements of US bands like The Dirty Truckers. In doing so, the track has a lovably retro heart that’s hard to beat, especially when played loudly. The band offer an extra layer of grit here, too, thanks to a great vocal where Glen Lynch unleashes his inner John Fogerty, which really boosts the dirtier qualities of the melody in hand. Between a forthright vocal and a chunky guitar sound supplied by ex-Dire Straits man Hal Lindes, these guys are set to give fans of old school roots rock sounds a pleasingly uncomplicated kick between the ears.
By opening with a hardcore sound, ‘If You Can’t Beat Them, Join Them’ by Bristolian riff lords Blank Atlas wrong-foots the listener in a really cool way. Following a blast of speed driven riffery, the single does a complete U-turn and introduces a choir of wordless vocals, followed by a chunky melodic punk riff, before a wall of vocal harmonies arrives, pulling everything closer to art rock. The pop-ish elements that cut through the vocal make the track even more interesting, since the concession to bigger, almost sugary sounds shows off a massive gift for a huge melodies in an unexpected way. Then, by re-introducing the hardcore riff, it allows the arrangement to drop into a massively chunky breakdown, creating the kind of climax that advertises a band who could crush everything in their path. In terms of complexity and musical interest, this has it all.
A month or so on from releasing his excellent single ‘Togetherness’, guitar virtuoso Jon Harris is back with ‘My Little Lady’. It’s a very different offering, sharing a funk derived backdrop constructed of some rather chunky chords, but much like before, there’s a huge sense of melody at the track’s core. The best moments come from Jon’s lead work, which values subtlety over any temptation to shred. Adopting a clean tone, the guitarist contrasts the strident chords with a jazz toned lead, sharing a very mellow mood at first, before branching out into something a little rockier for a climax. Rather more Eric Johnson than Joe Satriani, this number comes with a sophisticated edge and a great melody that’s set to remind everyone that there can be far more to interesting guitar instrumentals than sheer showmanship.
Returning after a ten year break, Scandinavian singer songwriter Esa Linna celebrates fatherhood on the very melodic ‘I Can See Myself’. On this pop-rock driven number, his accented vocal latches onto a simple yet effective arrangement, and his approach to chorus hooks focuses on harmonies a little more than before. The heart of the number draws from old style power pop, which certainly suits the repeated lyrical refrain, but as with Esa’s previous works, there’s more at stake here. A few bell like flourishes add extra interest beneath the mid tempo groove and, best of all, a very 80s influenced guitar solo with a bluesy lilt lifts everything with a vibe that feels as if the artist been listening to a couple of old Chris Rea records. As a vehicle for re-introducing a long absent voice to the underground scene, this is a more than solid recording, but more than that: it’s a single that proves that songs don’t always need to be overly fussy to make an impression.
Rebuilding Talking Heads’ ‘This Must Be The Place (Naive Melody)’ from the ground up, Orbiter dispense with the original cut’s quirky pop and in its place, add a familiar vocal melody to a slow and brooding slab of alternative rock. The early passages mix elements of dream pop with a dense, mournful sound that takes cues from The Cure’s ‘Disintegration’ album, setting a strange beauty in place. Eventually, the band explodes with a doom riff that takes the track into a heavy goth-sludge direction, whilst keeping a semi-clean vocal in place for a brilliant melodic contrast. In terms of covers, this is great, an epic recording that allows the listener to experience a long ingrained melody in an almost entirely new way.
November 2024