In the summer of 2023, Muck and The Mires released the ‘Cool Imposter’ single. With a blend of 50s kitsch, late 60s garage rock guitar and one of the most repetitious hooks ever, it quickly marked out a place as one of their strongest tracks to date. Their 2024 EP ‘Zoom Breakup’ doesn’t quite summon the same fire – although always enjoyable in their own way, it would’ve been a tall order for its six numbers to reach the same heights of shameless infectiousness – but the release is certainly a more than welcome addition to the veteran band’s catalogue.
Author Archives: Real Gone
IAN BLURTON’S FUTURE NOW – Crimes Of The City
Ian Blurton’s 2019 album ‘Signals Through The Flames’ presented nine tracks of well crafted melodic hard rock and metal. The performer’s old soul brought a classic sound to the fore, with tracks that took influence from Black Sabbath (‘The March of Mars’), Blue Oyster Cult (‘ICQ’), ‘The Cage’ era Tygers of Pan Tang, and most notably on album standout ‘Days Will Remain’, a hefty nod to the vintage sounds of Judas Priest from 1978.
‘Crimes of The City’, the second release under the band name Ian Blurton’s Future Now (following 2022’s ‘Second Skin’), owes a similar debt to various classic rock and metal influences, but if anything, is even more effective. Delivering ten riff filled numbers in a little over half an hour, it leaves nothing to chance and no room for obvious filler.
Watch: Belgian metalcore act X-POZED share new video for ‘Back Down’
Back in 2012, five years after forming, Belgian metal crew X-POZED finally released their debut album. ‘Essence of Hope’ shared some strong material. For those who’d missed their earlier self-released EP, it was the kind of record that provided a strong musical introduction, with a couple of tracks that could certainly be cherry picked to show their range.
THE REAL GONE SINGLES BAR #86
Welcome back to the Real Gone Singles Bar! We’ve got another cool selection this week, taking in some punk ‘n’ roll, very dark electronica, some incredibly raw garage based noise, and the return of a funk rock powerhouse. As always, we hope the variety offers something for everyone. If you find something new to enjoy, we’d love to hear from you!
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SONS OF SILVER – Runaway Emotions
At the beginning of 2024, Sons of Silver released the excellent ‘Tell Me This’, a single which advertised the US rock band with a real sense of gusto. Powering the verse, the track’s stop start riff harked back to a world of classic influences, with its overdriven sounds paying homage in part to ‘Electric’ era Cult, but sharing a retro heart that didn’t feel too far removed from the underrated Izzy Stradlin and the Juju Hounds. With a wealth of musical grit augmented by a pleasingly ragged vocal, it stood proudly as one of the year’s best underground rock tracks. The fact that it could’ve been recorded at any point during the last thirty five years really worked in its favour, too, giving Sons of Silver a tune that – going forward – could help them stand alongside some of the better known names in classic rock.