Tom Baker is somewhat of a legend on the Boston music scene. As frontman for his own band The Snakes and as a member of The Dirty Truckers, he’s known for delivering swaggering rock music with a retro charm. 2019’s ‘Dirty Snakes’ presents itself as Baker’s first official solo release, but as its title more than suggests, it still retains a very strong link with his previous works as the six tracks find him backed by members of both bands.
Category Archives: Album & EP Reviews
Real Gone – A Decade of Deep Cuts
In November 2019, Real Gone reached its ten year anniversary of being online. To celebrate, we shared thoughts on ten albums we loved from that decade. That list came with two strict rules beyond becoming favourites: each year had to be represented by one album and each album had to in some way have helped our site to become more established.
As we reach the end of the year, it’s time to look back more broadly on some of our favourite albums of the ’10s; albums that have kept us listening for pleasure long after the reviews and coverage have been completed. If you’re a regular visitor to Real Gone, lots of these names will be familiar by now, but we hope this time for looking back helps to reconnect with a couple of old favourites, or find you a new one somewhere along the way. [Full reviews & streams can be found by clicking on the individual titles.]
***
MONO IN STEREO – Can’t Stop The Bleeding EP
Formed from the ashes of pop punk band Mulligan Stu, Mono In Stereo really mixed things up on their debut LP, 2015’s ‘Long For Yesterday’. On numbers like ‘Start Again’ and the title track, their punky roots were more than obvious, but other material suggested the combined band members had an equal love of trashy rock ‘n’ roll like The Replacements. The album highlights ‘Woke Up In Haight’ and ‘Never Coming Down’ even showed off a big love for Soul Asylum and the noisier end of the Americana spectrum.
It took the band four years to craft a follow up…and while that turned out to be an EP rather than a full album, ‘Can’t Stop The Bleeding’ proves yet again that quality will always trump quantity – and a couple of the songs are actually better than anything from the older full length.
VARIOUS ARTISTS – A Prog Rock Christmas
Billy Sherwood is no stranger to an all star compilation. Over the years, he’s helped mastermind tributes to all manner of artists, often with mixed results. His 2019 project ‘A Prog Rock Christmas’ can seem as scattershot as many of those previous all star affairs, but by bringing together various prog legends to put their own stamp on a few familiar yuletide ditties, there are a several things to enjoy along the way, ranging from the traditional to the bespoke.
THE BLACK HALOS – Geisterbahn II EP
When you think about Canadian punk, there are a few names that instantly spring to mind. NoMeansNo and D.O.A. are the most famous of punk’s first wave; Comeback Kid and Cancer Bats are among the top tier of the twenty first century crop. Whilst Propagandhi are arguably the most famous exponent of Canadian punk in the 90s, The Black Halos made an impact in Vancouver between 1993-2009 – enough to get signed to the then very much in vogue Sub Pop label and to work with legendary producer Jack Endino.
The Black Halos looked more towards Johnny Thunders, New York Dolls and The Stooges for their core influences – something which, during that period, was very much a sidestep from the usual Ramones or hardcore influences dominant in the punk scene. The love for trashy rock so obviously helped guitarist Rich Jones become a natural fit with Ginger Wildheart’s band upon his relocation to the UK after the band’s split.