BLUE HERON – Emulations

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Since their formation in 2018, US desert rock/heavy stoner band Blue Heron have been utterly committed to sharing massive riffs. Although parts of their 2024 full length ‘Everything Fades’ were a little more accessible from a vocal perspective, on a musical level, the album retained the kind of heaviness fans had come to expect, cementing the band’s reputation as one of the underground scene’s best and most intense acts.

Continuing a run of yearly new releases since 2022, ‘Emulations’ is a stop gap affair, combining four newly recorded tracks with a blistering live session, but it shouldn’t be considered a “filler” in any way.

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THE REAL GONE SINGLES BAR #125

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This visit to the Real Gone Singles Bar sees the return of a couple of familiar names – including one that should be known to almost everyone. The choice of music, of course, should be new to most people’s ears. We’ve got a well arranged indie pop number, some fantastic sounding goth-rock, another country tune from a brand new face, and even a really strong world music offering. With tunes covering a broad spectrum of sounds, we hope you’ll find something new to enjoy!

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SAM VARGA – The Fallout

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On his debut album ‘Shadow Work’, singer songwriter Sam Varga made the juxtaposition of angst ridden, emo-centric lyrics and radio friendly melodies appear very natural. Despite the fact the record took all of about four seconds for him to confront his audience with the revelation that he felt like he was “rotting from the inside out” and another couple before dropping an f-bomb for extra angst, the album remained very accessible. At its best, tunes like ‘Stories We Tell’ and ‘Apocalypse’ played like the natural successor to the Ryan Adams best-selling ‘Gold’; ‘Up Down’ took the poppy heart of Simple Plan’s more commercial work and transplanted it into more of a singer songwriter sphere, while the chorus of the brilliant ‘Live Up To It’ gave a confident nod to the more contemporary pop rock of Bleachers. All the while, Varga still managed to sound like his own man – a songwriter with an occasionally sharp tongue, but in possession of an even sharper ear for a great melody.

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Listen: Check out Obscure Fate’s debut single ‘Age Of Delusion’

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With a new name being touted almost weekly, it seems as if Finland has more metal bands per square mile than anywhere else on the planet. That said, there’s always room for more, and today, Obscure Fate release their debut single ‘Age of Delusion’, a solid sounding number, bringing together elements of 80s melodic metal, light goth overtones and melodic death metal aspects.

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SIDE PROJECT SKIP – The Friday Night Detour EP

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Helmed by multi-instrumentalist Chris Dicksheid, Side Project Skip’s debut EP ‘Fast Falls & Hard Landings’ – released in 2021 – found the sometime Mediocre Friends musician sidelining the sounds of late 80s college rock and exploring retro sounds of another kind. The recordings presented stripped back semi-acoustic material that had a very DIY feel, but at their best – as heard on the very strong ‘Sunsets On Rooftops’ – a love for bands like Toad The Wet Sprocket was evident, creating an intimate listen that shone a light on Chris’s songwriting in a pleasing way.

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