Welcome back to the Real Gone Singles Bar, the place where we explore some of the more interesting individual tracks that have landed in our inbox over the previous couple of weeks. This selection is potentially amazing, with a track that blends a soul vibe with light psych, a very strong alt-pop number, a genre defying piece from an up and coming singer songwriter, a synth based slice of dream pop – and more besides. As always, we hope you find something new to enjoy.
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Steady beats and some unashamedly 70s inspired funk bass sounds open ‘Communication’, a fantastic alt-pop number from Everyone Says Hi. Despite flaunting an intro that suggests something very retro is about to unfold, the bulk of the track actually sounds far more contemporary. Yes, the bass lends a very welcome old school groove – given a modern, slightly synthetic sounding twist – but the band use that to build up a world of sound that’s quite different, where filtered vocals glide over echoing noises that sound like Hawaiian guitar melodies, and a barrage of stabbing keys really add to a brilliantly layered arrangement. Blending indie pop with some surprisingly danceable rhythms, the music here is great, but the vocal hooks are even stronger, with a huge harmony powering a chorus that’ll stick in record time.
Don’t be fooled: Pär Hagström’s current single might be called ‘Heavy Metal’, but musically, it shares something from a completely different universe. A slow groove, steady bass and reverbed guitar sit at the heart of this superb track, helping to build a melody that, save for the guitar lending a slight vibe of psychedelia meeting cosmic country, is very much soul oriented. From the beginning, a mid tempo rhythm takes hold and barely shifts throughout a brilliant arrangement, allowing an aching lead vocal and gospel tinged choirs to take centre stage. It’s a terrific piece, which allows its charms to reach the listener gradually, sometimes sounding like a cross between a Lenny Kravitz deep cut and something from the Daptone Records stable, but often sounding like something that occupies its own genre defying space. This could be the greatest single you’ll hear for some time.
The way that ‘Two Little Wires’ by Solid State Radio crashes in with a huge guitar sound and bombastic rhythm, underscored by keyboards that make everything sound even bigger, is anything but subtle. The fact that it owes a debt to Springsteen will be make or break for some listeners – and likely in record time. And if the Boss-averse aren’t sent packing by the opening riffs, they’re likely to run for the hills once frontman Randy Michael starts to sing. His raw, impassioned delivery, veering on the edge of a heartbroken bellow, also invites an easy comparison to a younger, 80s era Bruce. The choice of lyric, exploring a parting of the ways, too, appears to come with a blue collar honesty that also wouldn’t sound out of place in the hands of the New Jersey legend. For those into the style, of course, there’s much here to love. The fiery guitar work breaks up the vocal with massive siren-like notes that really compliment the pain in the lyric; the heavy orchestration from the keys lends an epic feel, even if it feels a little over-familiar, stylistically speaking, and eventually, the core melody starts to come into its own. It’s a track that wears its influence rather unapologetically, but it’s bound to click with lovers of the style.
Sweeping synths and a pulsing electronic bass appears to set up something very mechanical during the intro of ‘Blood Harmony’ by Ships In The Night, but it’s actually a track with a superb sense of contrast. Balancing out a relative coldness, there’s a soft and breathy vocal that owes more to light pop, and more importantly, pays homage to a more of a 90s inspired, still alternative, dream pop style. This ensures that, no matter where the music goes, this track clings onto a wonderfully ethereal quality that continually takes the listener away from anything ordinary. The first three minutes share an almost perfect piece of electronic pop, but the coda adds a further welcome twist when a rather breezy sounding riff calls back to something that sounds as if its been inspired by ‘The City’ by Vangelis, with a near perfect tone to match.
Ecce Shnak’s ‘Jeremy, Utilitarian Sadboy’ was one of the greatest singles of 2024. Its genre-bending approach was genuinely exciting, and its mix of rock, opera and avant-garde noise occupied a space somewhere between Mike Patton and Battles, cementing the band’s growing reputation as boundary pushers. This “Kill Em Mix” of the track – masterminded by DJ Eskei83 – allows for a very different experience. It displaces the original vocal, taking the familiar, angry tones and then drops them against hard rhythms, abrasive bursts of electronica, and increasingly aggressive beats, eventually ending up somewhere that sounds like an industrial remix of a happy hardcore banger. It won’t appeal to everyone – much like the original track itself – but Ecce Shnak’s willingness to have their work presented before an entirely different crowd should be applauded.
Having cranked out rock tunes for over a decade, Belgium’s Jenkinses could probably claim to be stalwarts of the underground. Their current single isn’t quite as rough and ready as bits of their 2024 EP ‘Overspill’, but with a sharp edged guitar and pounding rhythm used as the driving force throughout, it still comes with plenty of energy. The verse blends retro rock with a melodic punk edge, sounding great from the off, but the chorus is where this comes into its own with a simple hook and some deftly applied harmonies helping to give the band a bigger sound. With traces of influence from Boston’s Dogmatics and Duck & Cover at the heart of the music, and a strange retro punk warble colouring the forceful lead vocal, ‘Destiny Dancer’ isn’t very subtle, but for lovers of a retro, proto punk-ish sound, it’s the kind of track that’ll add a spark to a well curated playlist.
A busy, unwavering rhythm and a rootsy guitar part attract the attention immediately, but these busy elements aren’t even the best feature of Tessa Rose Jackson’s ‘Fear Bangs The Drum’. That honour would belong to Tessa’s vocal, since her light and almost jazz tinged tones swoop above the smart arrangement beautifully, even though there are times when her dreamy qualities seem at odds with the music itself. Perhaps this is why she sounds so good: this track is unafraid to mix styles in an off-kilter way, and this becomes even more clear when a baritone sax arrives somewhat unexpectedly and drops in the kind of fusion inspired riff that would be more at home on a 1975 Soft Machine album than it is here. This, of course, makes ‘Fear…’ constantly fascinating; it hops gleefully between genres, yet never loses focus, and Tessa – regardless of where the music goes – manages to sound calm and almost siren-like throughout. An absolute must hear.
Last up, here’s a slice of metal with a great atmosphere. The opening of Night Theives’ ‘Obsidian’ works around a deep bass and echoing guitar lines, suggesting something that leans towards the gothic. As everything builds, things adopt more of a “contemporary” feel, with chugging guitars and really deep bass grooves steering everything into a heavier place. Not that this is without melodic interests: the weightier sound is balanced brilliantly by a clean vocal (courtesy of Jess Moyle) who shares a great performance throughout. It might be a stretch to call this London based band wholly original, but at its best, this single sounds like the Within Temptation and Linkin Park hybrid you never knew you needed.
October/November 2025