In February 2020, Guided By Voices released their thirtieth full length album, ‘Surrender Your Poppy Field’. At the point where it appeared on record shop shelves, it was seen as just another album from the ever prolific Robert Pollard. At the time, nobody really knew it would be vastly overlooked due to the world grinding to a halt a few weeks later. As it turned out, though, the disc was far from the band’s best. It boasted a grand opening track, and shared a couple of other fine tunes within its thirty nine minutes, but in terms of exciting GBV fare, it seemed rather lacklustre compared to 2018’s ‘Space Gun’ and 2019’s ‘Warp & Woof’ and ‘Sweating The Plague’.
Watch: Dave Matthews Band – Live in Bristow, VA (full show, pro shot)
During the second half of the nineties, Dave Matthews and his Band released a trio of great albums that brought the jam band aesthetic to a new audience. ‘Under The Table & Dreaming’ and its superior successor ‘Crash’ appeared to blend the complex melodic charms of ‘Mars Hotel’ era Grateful Dead with the more commercial strains of mid 70s Steve Miller, but latch onto a contemporary audience. With ‘Before These Crowded Streets’, the band hit their studio peak when introducing jazzier elements.
THE REAL GONE SINGLES BAR #31: FESTIVE EDITION
Welcome back to the Real Gone Singles Bar, the place where we explore the various individual tracks and mp3s that have landed in our inbox over the previous few weeks. This time around, we offer a festive selection – a collection of tunes with a Christmas theme, ranging from the traditional to the bespoke. Some of the material is brand new; some re-works the familiar in a new way, but when heard together, we hope these tunes entertain, and will prop up any great alternative playlist!
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SHOOTING DAGGERS / DEATH PILL – Split
Death Pill’s self titled debut album instantly became one of the best records of 2023. On that release, the Ukranian hardcore punks not only proved they could share riffs that were every bit the equal of the pioneering American scene back in 1979/80, but also showed off a great ability to temper their punk with occasional swathes of metal. Packed with a world of absolutely brutal riffs, it set the band out as one of the greatest arrivals on the punk scene since Natterers issued their uncompromising demo flexi in 2016. Since Shooting Daggers made almost as much of a striking impression on their ‘Manic Pixie Dream’ EP in 2021, the bands are a very natural pairing for a split 7”, and this release from the New Heavy Sounds label does not disappoint.
MENTO BURU – East Bakersfield Christmas II EP
At the end of a troubled 2020, Bakersfield ska men Mento Buru released an EP full of Christmas cheer. The sunny ska based rhythms were at odds with “chestnuts roasting on an open fire”, but that only added to the fun. Not everything on the ‘East Bakersfield Christmas’ EP was of a gold standard, but its best bits – including a terrific ‘Feliz Navidad’ – certainly made it worth checking out and definitely played to the band’s strengths.