THE REAL GONE SINGLES BAR #88

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 previous few weeks. This time out, we bring a new track from a great pop punk act, a great sounding number written in record time, a perfect blend of metal and industrial on a brilliantly aggressive workout, an equally great number that’ll appeal to lovers of melodic singer songwriter material, and more besides. Obviously, as 2025 begins to take shape, we’ll be bringing you many more treats… In the meantime, we hope there’s something new to enjoy here!

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Back in 2023, Scottish punks Around 7 released ‘This Ain’t Your Soundtrack’, a single which gained some very positive online press. Since that number really helped the band to build more of an audience, their first single for 2025, ‘Anything From You’ deserves to be an absolute smash. Opening with a barrage of sharp chords and a round of massive whoahs, it really isn’t shy in advertising its old school pop punk intents, and as the number hits its stride with the help of riffs that sound like early blink-182 with bigger boots colliding with early (classic) Face To Face and some unashamed “na na na”s, the band’s musical tightness and commitment to a classic sound becomes very clear. For those who always keep an ear for great musical flourishes, there’s something of much greater interest here too, when bassist Lachlan Wallace leads the charge with some great lead work, showing how this is a punky tune that’s anything but disposable.

When it comes to an old fashioned emotional pull, ‘What A Little Love Can Do’ by singer songwriter Sam Robbins doesn’t hold back. By opening with voice and piano, the track’s sedate qualities immediately call out to the listener, and the arrival of an upright bass brings a whole world of warmth without ever feeling fussy. The big draw here, naturally, is Sam’s voice and he hits a sweet spot somewhere between 90s inspired radio pop and light country, sounding absolutely terrific throughout. Lyrically, he’s unafraid to suggest that a little love goes a long way. With its themes of reaching out to others and of trying to keep optimistic, the lyric has a universal quality, and the fact that the core piano melody is very closely related to John Hiatt’s classic ‘Have A Little Faith In Me’ really doesn’t hurt either. Overall, this is a brilliant and pleasingly mature single.

Another laid back track centring around piano and bass, ‘Good To Be Anywhere’ by Auburn featuring Liz Lenten doesn’t exactly open like your traditional single. Lenten delivers a spoken monologue against a slow melody, which suggests something that would be far better suited to being a deep album cut. Even when she breaks into actual singing, her voice has a fragility that doesn’t sit entirely comfortably, but given time to adjust, that reinforces the fleeting nature of the melody itself, and of a lyric dealing with just trying to live in the moment. In most respects, though, it’s the music that sells this number: the flowing piano is timeless in its emotive stance; the jazz influenced drums bring out a late night, almost smoky texture, and the bass adds a necessary gravitas. A track that manages to blend jazz pop and light prog into something that doesn’t really sit entirely easily, there’s an adult audience out there who’ll appreciate this, even if stylistically it’s not always the easiest listen for something that’s decidedly within an easy listening mould.

Plastic Rhino are one of those bands who appear to have been lurking within the alternative underground forever. Their current single ‘I Rise’ is one of their greatest recordings to date. It reintroduces the duo with a wall of dark synths and a pulsing beat, adding a welcome electronica vibe to their chunky sound, before exploding into a hard edged rock number with a strong melodic heart. When the guitars appear, their contrast with the mechanical beats works brilliantly, working a fuzzy hard rock melody that creates the perfect backdrop for Atara Glazer, whose very retro sounding voice latches onto a superb rock melody that calls back to the 90s. Better yet is Jack Glazer’s bass work, which occasionally cuts through with a huge amount of weight and a sound that would normally be more closely associated with a riff-heavy post-rock band. In terms of mixing styles, this feels so natural, and it’s amazing to think that this was created from scratch in just three days.

By opening with a guitar riff that draws from a folky melody, ‘Bedroom Analysis’ by Midland Railway doesn’t necessarily begin in the most predictable way for a rock track. Even once the drums kick in and the melody swells to take on more of a chunky sound, the lilting melody still dominates, and this is used to accommodate a slightly fey vocal which is quite disarming with its natural feel. It’s rather striking. The vocal and guitar don’t seem to be natural bedfellows at first either, and this more than suggests this band is clearly unafraid of a “geek rock” sound. Once you’ve adjusted, of course, everything’s more than fine: the guitars share a very memorable melody and the chorus is charming in its old school approach. It’s a single that’s more about melody than hooks, but a couple of plays leaves the listener with something that feels strangely uplifting.

Industrial grooves, sharp edged beats, an abrasive vocal: these three elements convey a huge sense of power throughout Bad Rescue’s ‘In Shelter’. It’s an angry affair, but there’s also a buoyancy to this single that works with immediate effect. In terms of balance, it’s perfect, and it’s almost impossible not to be drawn to the combination rough edge and almost danceable beats here. At the point where you’d expect a big hook to kick in, everything throws a curveball and the vocal is drowned within bigger synth sounds, before dropping into a soundtrack infused instrumental break. This shows off a much grander arrangement than expected. A couple of spins really help this track to shine, and even with a few predictable beats holding everything together, it all sounds superb if played back at high volume. Even with the electronica aspects leaning further towards a cyberpunk sound than a flawless homage to KMFDM, this single has a hugeness that’ll immediately appeal to lovers of a lot of 90s industrial works.

A repetitive, chiming guitar chord, a baggy-ish rhythm and spoken vocal greet the listener at the start of ‘Four’, a bold new track from DITZ. Even the arrival of a few sharper edges doesn’t introduce more of a melody. It isn’t until just before the two minute mark that things begin to fall into place with a riff that sounds like a Franz Ferdinand jam put through a world of distortion. At that point, this Brighton based band hit a definite groove and their mix of post-punk and weird agit-pop really grabs the listener. Often more about angular noises than anything else, ‘Four’ still has plenty of power, and with a reasonable amount of simmering anger, this is the kind of single that could set the live shows on fire.

Last up, here’s something unexpected. You might know Eugenio Sambasile as the founder of Italian death metal band Embryo, but his current solo single takes a dramatic left turn. ‘An Emptied Soul’ casts Sambasile as an assured country rocker, on a mid tempo number that really allows for an emotive pull. Right from the opening acoustic motif and the strums that follow, the number makes no secret of its musical inspirations, and Eugenio’s vocal twang really reinforces the country angle. As things progress, it’s a single that’s clearly big on melody, with the performer’s voice curling itself around an already familiar country backdrop. Lyrically, it’s very open when it comes to themes of depression, and there’s an honesty here that really demands attention. The best moments, though, come via its instrumental passages when the listener really gets to hear guitar work with a superb tone. The lead takes more of a bluesy stance – something that’ll be more palatable for the average rock fan – but there’s a sadness within the chosen melody that still clings onto a country sound, making this musical detour more than valid. With new material expected from Eugenio later in 2025, the year will see him really working some interesting musical contrasts.

January 2025