Welcome back to the Singles Bar, the place where we explore some of the individual tracks that have landed in our inbox over the previous few weeks. This selection brings the arrival of a couple of familiar faces under a new name, a moody number from an up-and-coming singer songwriter, a noisy reworking of something very familiar, a brilliant acoustic offering…and more besides. As always, we hope you find something new to enjoy!

*

Here’s an impressive, somewhat sultry number from Northern Irish singer-songwriter Naomi Campbell. ‘Don’t You Mind’ blends a soul oriented melody with a bluesy feel and a country-tinged vocal to create a great crossover sound. The track’s main melody borrows heavily from the old blues standard ‘It Hurts Me Too’, but Campbell puts a massively impressive spin on something familiar by sharing a huge vocal worthy of peak Sam Brown, whilst her session band put in some hard yards throughout, adding old style organ swirls and augmenting a very solid melody. It’s markedly different from her semi-psychedelic folk banger ‘Tuesday’s News’, but is still very much the sound of an artist on the rise.

It’s been a busy 2024 for rock band Healthy Junkies, but they’re getting ready to say goodbye to the year in style. On the coattails of their album release, they’ve spotlighted the brilliant ‘Lion In A Circus’ as a digital single. This uptempo number blends punky chords with metal riffs, and its crashy rhythms are a perfect vehicle for an enthused vocal. If anything really works here, though, its the mix of sharp edged rhythm guitar and punk ‘n’ roll lead guitar breaks – both of which reach sell the band’s trashy aesthetic with ease. With a hint of a speed-oriented, metal-edged Transvision Vamp in the closing riffs, this track is the perfect vehicle for the cult band, showing off a really great sound.

‘My Angel’ by Basia Bulat is a number that takes in a little light electronica via some atmospheric droning sounds, a pinch of calypso inspired pop melody and a world of synth pop to create a pleasingly layered listening experience. It can be hard at times to draw your ear away from the busy groove supplied by the bottom end notes from a well crafted bassline, but there’s some great moods flowing through the performance, not least of all Bulat’s lead vocal, which, at times, sounds like a light and airy, distant cousin of Mel C, working a very European melody. It’ll take a couple of plays to stick, but this single has huge potential.

Featuring ex-members of the brilliant Little Thief, Oswald Slain is a new name for 2024. The Bristol based act trade in an alternative rock sound for a very retro blues-edged jangle on their debut single ‘Happiness Is Overrated’. Against a heavy strum, a vocal drenched in effects delivers a hard edged melody that captures a superb 70s sneer, whilst the music branches out to incorporate some hefty bar room piano and a choir of vocals that make this sound like a weird hybrid of Noah & The Whale and pre-glam Mott. For those not entirely sold on this change of direction, a fiery lead break and a stripped back verse featuring a moody vocal aim to draw the ear even further into this track’s layered sound. Although this isn’t exactly what most people would expect from the Little Thief camp, it’s definitely a track that bodes well for the future.

‘Today’ marks the first new music to be shared by Polaris Prize nominated singer songwriter Steph Cameron in seven years, but this single represents a timeless sounding return. The simple track has a folk backbone that’s reminiscent of Bert Jansch and John Renbourn, but a sharp production value that gives the stripped back arrangement more of a contemporary edge. Steph’s light voice captures a brilliant fragility too, ensuring the track has a very heartfelt quality throughout. It sounds like something you’ve always known, and that has a lot to do with the fact the core of the arrangement bears a striking resemblance to the Stephen Stills composition ‘4 + 20’ from CSN&Y’s classic ‘Deja Vu’. Still, if you’re going to be inspired, be inspired by the very best…

For those looking for something a little quirky, Ciao Malz’s ‘Two Feet Tall’ should more than entertain. The opening guitar riff presents a fusion of twee indie and lounge jazz, and has been presented in an off kilter manner that makes it sound as if it’s been captured on a stretched tape. Against the wonky core, the drums and vocals latch onto a very 90s inspired brand of indie pop, and the vocal delivers something very sugary. There are moments where the two styles appear to battle each other, but given time to adjust, this is a single that sounds both fun and weirdly nostalgic. For fans of old Sarah Records fare, especially, this could come as an unexpected treat.

They’ve already shared impressive singles featuring The Mission’s Wayne Hussey and goth influenced vocalist Ashton Nyte, but musical collective Beauty In Chaos have something even greater up their sleeve with ‘Echoes & The Angels’. From the outset, its combination of mechanised rhythms and heavy synths sets a very late 80s feel in place, but as the melody grows, so too does this track’s appeal. The verse is constructed of fine goth pop, but a huge chorus takes the track way beyond the realms of an easy throwback when guesting vocalist Leo Luganskiy launches into a world of higher notes augmented by an extra layer of sound. Sure, there’s a lot of studio trickery here rather than an organic approach, but Beauty In Chaos really make that work in their favour. Even when the huge vocal subsides, the musical arrangement continues to thrill with the aid of a terrific ringing guitar sound – of the purest goth-pop vintage – and a huge layer of keys, accenting the dark elements within this superb number. After a few plays, it sounds just as good as it did the first time too, suggesting this is a track with a genuine longevity.

Last up, here’s something rather fun. Pennsylvania fuzz rockers Almost Honest have put their own stamp on a Beatles classic. Transforming the once jangly and upbeat ‘And Your Bird Can Sing’ into a semi-sludgy, heavy edged stoner rock number has allowed the band to change the tempo, the chords and even parts of the anchoring bassline. Aside from clinging onto the lyric, they’ve basically rebuilt the whole track. It doesn’t quite have the magic of something like Type O Negative covering ‘Summer Breeze’, but there’s a charm here all of its own. Part of the magic comes from a great guitar tone which throws out mid tempo chords to create a superb chugging base, but the real magic comes from the bass part, which borrows heavily from another ‘Revolver’ classic, ‘Taxman’, to give the heavy edge a welcome lift. Beatles purists will hate it, but for the stoner rock fan, it’ll create a more than welcome listen.

November 2024