This debut EP from Pollyanna Blue is a short but amazing work. Latching onto a style where the alternative elements collide with a heavy electronic groove, they sometimes come across like a heavy version of Metric and Transister, but the musical duo wield some serious muscle and add their own much harder edge to a genuinely classic sound.
REDEYE CARAVAN – Snake Oil & Lullabies EP
Formed in 2019, Greek band Redeye Caravan bill themselves as “dark country”, but their sound runs far deeper than that. For those people who are country averse, it’ll come as a relief that they don’t necessarily fit the country mould – or certainly not as a lot of people would perceive it. For example, the brilliant ‘El Muerto’ from their 2020 album ‘Nostrum Remedium’ actually plays more like a swamp blues; a landscape where acoustic slide guitars meet haunting harmonica lines and a gruff vocal comes a little closer to the work of Molly Hatchet. The same record features a choir of vocals exploring some moody folk sounds (‘Banshee’); a marriage of hefty twanging guitars and whistled melodies on a piece that’s clearly modelled on an Ennio Morricone score for a Western (‘Old Debt’), and even a mix of blues and cajun (‘The Road North’). There are hints of something a little more traditional when ‘At Gallows End’ plays more like a moody Johnny Cash number by way of Mark Lanegan, but it would be hard to pigeonhole the whole affair as “a country record”.
ROBLEDO – Broken Soul
Chilean vocalist James Robledo came to most people’s attention as frontman with Sinner’s Blood, a metal band who’s debut album ‘The Mirror Star’ presented a combination of massive riffs and melodic choruses that had an old heart, but plenty of spark. Over the next few years, James kept himself busy by recording a solo album, landing the job as vocalist with Demons Down, collaborating with the often enjoyable Magnus Karlsson, and even appearing on a Michael Bolton tribute album.
THE REAL GONE SINGLES BAR #8
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. There’s another great selection this time around, ranging from rock and metal, to folk punk, to dreampop. With a variety of big guitar sounds, echoing voices, retro riffs and and even sharing a new tune from a French singer-songwriter, this promises to be one of our biggest and best selections of singles so far. We hope you’ll discover something new within and, as always, consider exploring some of these bands further.
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STRAWBS – The Magic Of It All
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.