In the summer of 2015, singer-songwriter Jot Green (aka Rum Thief) released ‘Reach For The Weather Man‘, an EP of hard jangling tunes coupled with social commentary and an unavoidable sense of Englishness. Like a northern Frank Turner, an underground Alex Turner or perhaps a Mike Skinner with actual tunes and talent, he showed a strong ability to couple grass roots messages with a gruff but fairly timeless indie-rock backdrop. A fair while passed and nothing more was heard. Had the Rum Thief been swallowed up by his day job, or even run out of things to tell the world? It would seem so.
Author Archives: Real Gone
Stream ‘Hour Glass’ by alt-rockers In My Disguise
Taking a huge funk metal riff, a pinch of emo and a huge influence from classic alternative rock, Suffolk’s In My Disguise serve up a huge sound on their new single ‘Hour Glass’.
The track previously premiered on the Punktastic website but you can now hear it in full below. The band’s debut EP ‘Achromatic’ is released on 19th May.
LUNAR TWIN – Night Tides EP
Lunar Twin’s third release puts their previous recordings in the shade. A downtempo work, ‘Night Tides’ is an absolute beauty. Released via the Moon Sounds Records (home to Bloodhounds On My Trail and the excellent Foreign Resort), it represents a huge step forward for the US electronica duo. It’s six numbers encompass a whole world of electronic and atmospheric moods, but both the scope of the arrangements and a superb production sound go a long way to making everything sound like the work of a full band.
KARMA CLUB – Smile, It’s Good For You EP
They’ve been likened to The Cure, Foals and Bombay Bicycle Club. Their sound has more than a hint of The Killers in places and their debut EP features some great basslines which sometimes harken back to the UK post-punk scene. In these respects, from the outside looking in, Bath’s Karma Club might seem like the sum of various influences, but what they do with those influences sometimes results in a breezy and summery listen. Although their music doesn’t always reach too high in the originality stakes, this band’s musical talent and enthusiasm often gives the four tracks from their debut EP a decent send off.
TOM BAKER AND THE SNAKES – Lookout Tower
Somewhere near the end of 2015, Tom Baker (of Boston band Dirty Truckers) rallied round the troops and formed a side project, Tom Baker and The Snakes. A filthy and sloppy three guitar assault, The Snakes featured another face from the Truckers and the guitarist from Watts (albeit switching to drums!), alongside members of Gymnasium and Family Township. The resultant ‘4 Stars‘ EP flaunted a love of the Stones and The Replacments throughout and band’s shamelessly gritty sound represented the musical equivalent of diesel and dirt.