Wax On Water’s full length album ‘The Drip’ (released in June 2022) presented an interesting mix of electronica, light goth and occasional industrial sounds. With a broad but dark sonic palate linked via a strong vocal, the album’s best tracks brought back memories of a vast array of alternative music from the early 90s . With it’s most mechanical bits not too far removed from something you’d find on Trent Reznor’s vanity label Nothing Records, and a more melodic streak presenting itself as if taking a moody swipe at Garbage, it was a recording that managed to mix the arty with a surprisingly commercial edge.
Author Archives: Real Gone
ORIANTHI – Rock Candy
Orianthi’s 2020 album ‘O’ marked an overdue return for the Australian guitarist. Her first album in seven years and her first for the Frontiers Records label, it appeared during the pandemic lockdown, adding to an ever growing pile of welcome distractions for rock fans the world over. You’d be hard pressed to call it forward looking in any way – the bulk of the music ploughed a furrow where classic 80s melodic rock was very much at the forefront of her semi-bluesy sound, and the video for its second single ‘Impusive’ seemed to want to set the feminist movement back by decades – but, as melodic rock long players go, it was enjoyable enough.
SWEATPANTS PARTY – Sweatpants Party
A new band for 2022, the terribly named Sweatpants Party marks a long overdue return for the almost legendary Kevin Aper. Marketed as sounding “just like The Apers”, fans are automatically given a heads up as to what they can expect, and indeed, the new band’s core sound recycles many elements of Kevin’s past works brilliantly. Although working from a solid pop punk stock, there’s a little more to the Sweatpants, though, since this musical vehicle – teaming Kev with members of Jagger Holly and Stockkampf – takes in bubblegum punk and a little power pop along the way. The focus is on unashamed pop punk and trashy lyrics, of course, and that’s enough to win over The Apers’ entire fan base in a heartbeat.
Watch the new video from The Venemous Pinks
In the summer of 2022, following a string of singles and EPs, US punks The Venemous Pinks finally released their full length debut. The ten cuts on ‘Vita Mors’ captured a really punchy style that took the no-nonsense guts of the much missed Soviettes and blended it with a more contemporary sound. Loaded with riffs, its twenty seven minutes left no room for filler.
Watch the new video from Davey Lane’s band, The Pictures
At the end of September ’22, Davey Lane’s band The Pictures made a long overdue return. The release of the ‘I Can’t Hold Back’ single marked the end of a fifteen year silence for the band, but in many ways, the track played as if it’d been a mere heartbeat since their previous release.