“Sometimes you hear new songs that sound like old songs…”, says Nick Piunti of ‘Downtime’, making no secret of the retro qualities that provide the heart of his 2020 release. It’s ten songs draw influence from a very broad selection of power pop and radio friendly alt-pop tunes from the 90s, serving up a selection of songs that easily feel like a visit from an old musical friend and could even awaken a few old memories along the way.
THE WATCHERS – High And Alive EP
Following two enjoyable studio releases, San Francisco stoner rock band The Watchers give fans a genuine treat with their third release. ‘High And Alive’ shows the band in their natural environment, in front of an enthusiastic crowd. With four tracks recorded at The House of Rock, the EP shows how much better this band sounds without the constraints of a studio and with some extra volume applied.
The Great 80s Project: 1982
In terms of pop, 1982 was a strong year: Madness took a further step towards songwriting sophistication with their album ‘The Rise & Fall’, Prince made a huge breakthrough with his ‘1999’ double platter of much filthiness and Phil Collins showed us that the previous year’s ‘Face Value’ wasn’t just a one-off solo success when his “tricky second album” spawned a #1 hit single and a few of his best solo tunes.
JUDIE TZUKE – Road Noise: The Official Bootleg
From an historical perspective, Judie Tzuke’s ‘Road Noise: The Official Bootleg’ is an interesting proposition. At the time of its original release in 1982, the double live album format had been dominated by rock bands – it was rare that a contemporary pop artist or singer songwriter would bother with such a release. Also, its extended format had almost become yesterdays news. In a musical landscape populated by synth pop bands and the birth of the New Romantics, the 7” single had once again become king, much as it had been in the early to mid sixties. The decision for Tzuke to release a double platter of live material in the Autumn of ’82 certainly went against the grain.
Real Gone Sessions #4: House Above The Sun – Small Town
With the world in turmoil and people in isolation, there’s a good chance you have far more on your mind right now than “What are the best albums of 2020 so far?”…but we’d be happy to tell you that House Above The Sun’s ‘Time I Got Goin’ EP is one of the finest releases to emerge from the year’s first quarter.