This visit to the Singles Bar mixes the familiar with the brand new. Making repeat appearances are an Irish shoegaze band with one of their most forceful tracks to date, a hard working metal band who are wholly committed to bringing huge riffs, and a singer songwriter who’s unafraid of a complex melody. There’s also a debut from an act who sound like they deserve to be big in record time, a number mixing garage rock and post punk sounds, and more besides. As always, we hope you find something new to enjoy!
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Simply put, ‘Joyride’, the current single from Norway’s Cocktail Slippers, is bloody fantastic. Opening with a descending bass riff and occasional garage rock guitar sounds, it advertises a 60s feel that could take a kitschy turn. Instead, though, the main groove opens out into some breezy pop-rock where the garage-ish guitar is offset by a pleasingly sunny vocal, which really comes into its own on a chorus fuelled by “na na na”s. For those who’ve followed the band for a while, this optimistic and catchy sound probably won’t come as surprise, but The Cocktail Slippers have rarely sounded so enthused, and Sandra Szabo’s lead vocals, in particular, help to form a track that has the potential to take on a timeless appeal. If you’re looking for the ultimate mood lift, this will more than have you covered.
Allowing the bass to take the lead, ‘There Are No Words’ by Fast Money Music shares a tune that’s equal parts muscle and atmospherics. The bass and slightly lax vocal draw straight from a contemporary indie source, but a hugely reverbed guitar part adds an interesting garage rock slant while the repetitious and angular nature of the arrangement also owes a small debt to post punk. They’ve certainly got a lot of bases covered here, and although everything feels rather familiar, nothing feels stale. The riffs are sharp enough to catch the ear from first listen, but it’s a simple hook that wins out, and when delivered in a slightly flat tone, that really feeds into the slightly stand-offish feel of the music itself. This is a great example of how things needn’t be complex to be interesting, and for lovers of guitar driven indie fare, this could become a new favourite.
Heroes of the UK metal underground, Bang Bang Firecracker have returned. Following a trilogy of strong EP releases and a couple of great singles, ‘Alive For The Game’ finds the band wielding some absolutely massive riffs. The core of the arrangement centres around a fierce chug where the force of thrash meets the deep grooves of ‘Powertrippin’ and ‘Crank’ era Almighty, and that alone makes this track a winner. Factoring in one of Kieron Berry’s most confident vocals – a powerful roar with a melodic edge – and some really old school lead guitar work, this becomes a classic sounding slab of no nonsense metal that deserves to bring the band to a bigger audience.
The mix of busy beats and blanket-like synths gives the core of ‘Eastend Requiem’ by Eugene McGuinness a very interesting sound, but despite how ear-catching that can seem, it’s no match for the track’s vocal. McGuinness contrasts the rather complex music with a wonderfully simple performance that allows his rich tones to soar, almost Jeff Buckley-like in places, giving this adult pop number the feeling of something much older. That would be enough to make these four minutes work, but the latter part of the number’s use of multi-layered voices and rich orchestration allows for something much deeper. On his previous singles, Eugene has delivered some enjoyable sounds, but this is a track that really advertises a great talent.
Barely a few weeks after the release of ‘In Waves’, Canadian indie band Museums are back with ‘Trade’. This single doesn’t recycle an obvious love for early Cure numbers like its predecessor, but the track still has a slightly retro feel that really works. Centring around a steady beat and a world of muted chords, the verses have a very mechanical feel, but any inhuman qualities are offset by a light dream pop inspired vocal, and the contrasting styles work brilliantly together. For those hoping Museums will make a little more of an impact, a huge riff fills the chorus with a blend of slacker rock that falls somewhere between classic Pixies and some overlooked post-grunge from yesteryear. It isn’t the fussiest of arrangements, but in terms of lifting the spirits, this is a track that pushes a lot of the right buttons.
Folk based acoustic riffs adorned with a mournful cello suggest something downbeat, but the arrival of a steady drum part and electric guitar shifts the tone of Belle and Chain’s debut single ‘Don’t You Worry Babe’ in a rather dramatic fashion. The contrast of loud and quiet, rocky and folky works brilliantly throughout. The track’s complex approach leaves nothing to chance, finding time for a rock based lead guitar break and a busy coda where the layered sound brings hints of early Florence + The Machine, but it’s a wonderful lead vocal that steals the show. Spencer Grammer’s performance demonstrates a great tone; her quiet approach lends the performance a mood that occasionally reworks a classic Americana tinged melody brilliantly, as well as conveying a slightly sinister tone that’s a perfect fit for the epic musical arrangement. It’s vital that a new band creates a great first impression, and on that score, this is very interesting indeed.
Irish shoegazers Silk are already known for creating a huge wall of sound, but on their current single ‘Auralux’, that approach is taken to extremes. The number flaunts a guitar sound that’s so huge, its distorted edges swamp everything – including a clean, more indie-infused vocal. The main riff’s sludgy edges almost take the relative melodies from the extreme end of the shoegaze spectrum and into something almost grungy. It’s an approach that really works, especially when offset by a brighter sounding lead guitar and warped sounds that show an obvious love for pioneers My Bloody Valentine, and a couple of quieter moments that suggest more of a dream-gaze influence. Although this initially feels more concerned with force than melody, time spent with the track will also unveil a wonderful early 90s tone to the vocal which, despite often taking a back seat, works really hard to make its mark. For lovers of the style, this is likely to be an instant hit.
From its opening notes, ‘She’s Gone Out (Pass Me A Lighter)’ by Chasing Dolls suggests something a little off kilter when a guitar riff shares a blues tinged loop, but delivers it with more of a 90s indie rock tone. The contrast of sounds doesn’t end there: the band then use the riff to colour a really shouty verse that owes more to melodic hardcore with its relentless and distorted vocals, before wrong-footing the listener completely with a mellow middle eight that owes more of a debt to cosmic Americana. The shouty hook ultimately returns, but never seems to grab the listener quite in the way you’d expect, due to the original guitar riff taking centre stage. By the time these three minutes are up, it’s entirely possible that the riff is all you’ll remember. This should be a complete mess; it’s to the band’s credit that they have enough confidence to even try and make such a musical menagerie work…and just about pull it off.
April 2026