The Strawbs’ 2021 release ‘Settlement’ featured some fine music from the veteran musicians. Decades into their journey, it was possible for fans to experience Dave Lambert channelling Ant Phillips via some fine acoustic work, and moments where floaty, prog-ish arrangements lent the best material a thoughtful quality that really suited the band. Unfortunately, most of the album was rendered borderline unlistenable due to terrible vocals from Strawbs main man Dave Cousins. At best, he sounded like a ravaged old folkie – his voice worn by the years of musical storytelling; at worst, an asthmatic goblin, gargling with intent to sabotage the work laid down by his musical cohorts. It was the kind of album that all but the most diehard of Strawbs fans would spin three times and move on.
LYCANTHROPE – Hydra EP
Metalcore act Lycanthrope have been active within the Australian metal scene since 2014, and in the couple of years prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, they’d built upon a massive sound that made them seem absolutely unbeatable.
ZERO BOYS – Don’t Shoot Can’t Breathe / Long Way To Go
Active since 1980, Zero Boys emerged from the US hardcore punk scene, but the sounds on this twin tracker owe almost nothing to the influences and styles most readily associated with that vein of musical history. They have a retro and punky spirit that can’t be ignored, but the Zero Boys of 2023 present have a brilliantly melodic core that draws as much from garage rock and punk ‘n’ roll, and does so in a way that appears to create a sound that pre-dates most actual punk.
THE REAL GONE SINGLES BAR #7
Welcome back to the Real Gone Singles Bar, the place where we explore some of the individual MP3s that have landed in our inbox over the previous few weeks. The inbox is always a mixed bag and a bit of musical lottery, and this visit to the Singles Bar brings the usual variety, but in a few places, things have got decidedly heavier. In the usual style, we’ve tried to present a selection that has a reasonable balance, and between the heavier bits you’ll find some electronica, a garage rock banger with some brilliant pop overtones and a very commercial track from one of the rock scene’s best up and coming acts. As always, we hope that if something catches your attention, it’ll inspire you to check out the bands further.
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VARIOUS ARTISTS – Steel Bars: A Rock Tribute To Michael Bolton
In the minds of a lot of people, Michael Bolton is a man charged with filling his career with easy listening pop, or crooning standards. He achieved massive success in the late 80s with his sixth album, ‘Soul Provider’, a record that showcased a man with a strong voice, but beyond the Desmond Child penned ‘How Can We Be Lovers’ had very little substance.
That track was actually a welcome throwback of sorts to Bolton’s musical past. Before he became chief executive of making a generation of housewives over excited, old Mickey Two-Haircuts had already had a full career by most people’s standards. His first two albums mixed west coast pop with AM radio friendly rock tunes and material that occasionally hinted at his future success as a best-selling crooner, but a run of work released between 1979-85 cast Michael in the role of a full blooded rocker. With his band Blackjack (featuring future Kiss axeman Bruce Kulick) and as a solo performer, ‘Blackjack’ (1979), ‘Worlds Apart’ (1980), ‘Michael Bolton’ (1983) and ‘Everybody’s Crazy’ (1985) captured a run of work that could easily stand up with the best of Foreigner, Survivor and their ilk. Given the ubiquitous presence of Michael’s later, softer works, these brilliant records have all but been forgotten – or more likely ignored – by the more casual record buyer.