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 past few weeks. This time around, we’re pleased to share a piece of retro pop, a great track from an up and coming singer songwriter, a slab of ambient desert rock, and more besides. As always, we hope you find something new to enjoy!
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Ian Pickering of Sneaker Pimps fame is back with his project The Noise Who Runs, and ‘The Summer Talking’ is one of the most pointed tracks to be issued under that band’s banner so far. Pitched as “an anthem of love, lies and climate denial”, the number comes loaded with a post punk abrasiveness, casting aside some of The Noise’s more melodic elements to allow a dual vocal – one hushed, dark voice, another shouting a simple hook – to take centre stage. Despite being a little harsher, the single still manages to be rather catchy, since the aforementioned hook doesn’t just provide a strong chorus refrain, but appears as a repeated mantra throughout, ensuring it can’t be ignored. By coupling the moody voices with a retro sounding guitar that throws out reverbed sounds which work almost as punctuation, this is a single with some brilliantly sharp edges, taking Pickering and his collaborators even more deeply into their world of thoughtful and arty sounds. If you’re already a fan, you’ll likely consider this an import addition to The Noise Who Runs’ growing catalogue.
Mustard Service really don’t shy away from sharing a retro vibe during the intro of the excellent ‘Sharks’. The opening notes tap into some fine 70s pop, and although a more modern vocal steers everything away from the yacht rock tones during the verse, upbeat yet dreamy elements filling a more melodic chorus do their very best to steer everything back in an MOR direction, which proves to be perfect for a perky vocal. There’s nothing fashionable about this track – right down to a slight jazzy lead guitar break, almost everything pulls from a rather cheeky, old school AM radio heart – but it’s one of the catchiest tunes you’ll hear for the next few weeks.
Scottish singer songwriter Stephen McCafferty is in a pleasingly positive mood on his current single ‘Never Up’. The track, which comes absolutely loaded with jangling guitar sounds, taps a little more into his indie pop interests as opposed to his reflective singer songwriter tones, but it’s a recording that’s really uplifting and full of melodic charm. The aforementioned guitars catch the ear with almost immediate effect, but as the number gains momentum, it’s McCafferty’s use of harmony vocals that wins out, on a chorus that could just be one of his fullest sounding to date. Fans will hear a distinctive voice working a familiar sound, but also a talent that doesn’t always sound too slavishly like anyone else. New work from this artist is always welcome, but with ‘Never Up’, McCafferty stands a good chance of attracting a few new ears – assuming internet word of mouth is strong enough. He definitely deserves the grass roots support.
You might know Brad Frye from his work with desert sludge band Red Mesa. You might know him via his very experimental, improv project Droni Eye Omi. It’s more likely that you still don’t know him at all. Presenting another burst of sound from the stoner/desert underground, ‘Desert Is As Desert Does’ owes more to Droni Eye Omi, but presents the ambient tones in a far more accessible way. Rising from a drone, Frye opens the piece with a repetitive riff that sounds like the opening of Pink Floyd’s ‘Shine On You Crazy Diamond’ replayed by Neil Young as part of the ‘Dead Man’ film score. He then lets his improv side slide into a wall of distortion, from which he rescues a few really dirty, blues toned runs, before slunking back into the shadows to let the ambient drone take over. Then, throwing out a couple of distorted notes, he hints at something else interesting, only to allow the short number to fade into silence. These three minutes are minimalist, to say the least, and yet Brad still manages to summon enough interest here to encourage the more hardened desert rock fan to explore the parent album ‘Reverberations From The American South West’, which features a selection of ambient recordings, captured live from remote outdoor locations.
In the 80s, Russ Tolman was one of the leading lights of the Paisley Underground movement (the set of bands that gave the world Opal, which in turn spawned the absolutely marvellous Mazzy Star). Some of his mid 80s work shares a faint parallel with early R.E.M. and other guitar driven fare, but in keeping with bits of his 2019 LP ‘Goodbye El Dorado’, his current single ‘Streets of Denim’ relies on more of a country influence. There’s still a very 60s tone within some of the rhythm guitar work, but with a melody that’s steered so very strongly by a lapsteel, the country sound becomes the most over-riding feature here. As it turns out, that’s really not a bad thing, as it is actually a very natural fit with Tolman’s now rather weathered voice. Armed with lyrics about the passing of time, the performance has a very world weary quality, but the natural feel of the lyric and music is enough alone to sell the track. For those who enjoyed Tolman’s previous album, this – and its parent disc, the pleasingly varied ‘Stray’ – should offer solid enjoyment.
The Butterfly Graveyard has often shared a very interesting take on an alt-pop sound in the past, but ‘Big City’ – the Irish singer songwriter’s current single – could be his most commercial offering to date. Building from a dance-ish drum loop, the track offers a blanket of 80s synths and chopping guitars, vaguely leaning into a mid 80s influence with a light gothy touch. This allows ‘Big City’ to catch the listeners’ ears in record time, long before a strident melody supplied by a dominant piano gives the music something of even greater interest. The number is ultimately sold by a superb vocal, though, and with The Butterfly Graveyard sharing some wonderfully light, soaring tones that contrast the music and yet provide a superb fit, this is a wonderfully full sounding alt-pop track that sounds better with each play.
The spikiness of the opening riffs of The Light Show’s ‘Code Name E.M.M.A.’ might bring to mind the early work of Franz Ferdinand and ‘Your Favourite Worst Nightmare’ era Arctic Monkeys, but this UK based act have enough of their own style and enough talent to ensure that that any inspiration doesn’t slip into blatant copying. In under two minutes, the track’s fuzzy bass and crashing drums drive forth an indie punk hybrid at that’s incredibly tight, and the way a boisterous vocal jostles against a sharp guitar captures a great energy. If anything sticks here in the long term, though, it’s the track’s lyrical hooks: The Light Show are absolutely unafraid of repetition, and the way a few phrases are used as lyrical battering rams really helps to drive home a superb track. It mightn’t be a hundred percent original, but in terms of commitment, these lads are giving no less than their all.
Last up, here’s a very, very welcome return for Ozric Tentacles. Ahead of their new album (‘Harmonic Mind’, set for release via Kscope Records on 18th September), ‘Space Platform’ is a prime slice of Ozrics that could fit absolutely anywhere within their last decade. From the moment the keys hit with a busy loop, the sound is unmistakeable, but the arrival of a great sounding fuzz guitar laying down the greatest psych-prog tones this side of Steve Hillage creates a huge, trippy atmosphere that’s impossible to ignore, and if you’re already a fan, just as impossible to dislike. By the time things intensify and tease with a couple more metallic tones, there’s a feeling that Ed and the band are about to drop into something uncharacteristically rocky, but instead, a hard funk bass steers everything through a danceable proggy soundscape that’s surprisingly hooky, before an ambient interlude really latches onto the band’s trippier tones. Once everything comes together with a world of punchy bass, 70s prog laden keys and more fuzz guitar, this number – although one of Ozric Tentacles’ shorter jams – feels like an instant classic.
July/August 2026