In the middle of the “lockdown years”,The Peppermint Kicks released their debut album, a ten track collection of retro workouts, pretty much guaranteed to thrill fans of the musicians involved. Like many releases on the Rum Bar label, it received positive praise from the underground press, but didn’t really reach beyond “cult status”.
Author Archives: Real Gone
Watch: Marillion vocalist Steve Hogarth covers Leonard Cohen’s ‘Famous Blue Raincoat’
Steve Hogarth is a legend in melodic rock and prog circles. He’s been the Marillion frontman for over thirty five years, and has also had a critically acclaimed solo career. In January 2026, Ear Music will release ‘SPQR’, a blu ray and CD set capturing Steve’s 2024 live show from Rome.
A brilliant set takes in a few Marillion deep cuts, some well chosen covers, and even a nod to H’s breakthrough band, Europeans.
THE REAL GONE SINGLES BAR #130
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 bring you a fantastic number from a British alt-folk band, the return of some cosmic, psychy legends, a great piece of synth based material, some well crafted pop punk…and more. As always, we hope you find something new to enjoy!
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TIBERIUS – Troubadour
With influences ranging from indie, alt-country and psychedelia, Boston rock band Tiberius (not to be confused with the Scottish metal band of the same name) have labelled their sound “Farm Emo”. The fusion of styles colours most of their debut album ‘Troubadour’ in such a way that their music feels inherently “90s”, yet at the same time, the record’s finest tracks feel so much grander than mere throwbacks to that plaid dominated era.
DINOSAUR JR – The Black Session: Live In Paris 1993
The early recordings by Dinosaur Jr are among the band’s most critically lauded, but a case could be made for 1993’s ‘Where You Been’ being the band’s finest and most consistent work. The first album to feature bassist Mike Johnson (replacing Sebadoh’s Lou Barlow, following his well publicised falling out with Dinosaur main man J Mascis), its material took on a slightly more commercial edge at times. The word “slightly” is more than apt here, however, since J’s vocal drawl would remain a stumbling block for those not entirely sold on the band’s sound, and a couple of noisier workouts ensured the heart of “older” Dinosaur was never far away. Nevertheless, the album connected with a broader audience than some of the band’s prior works, with ‘Start Choppin’ breaking into the UK top 20, and the album’s promotion including an appearance on the BBC arts programme The Late Show on February 23rd 1993, just two weeks after ‘Where You Been’ hit record shop shelves.