Scottish singer songwriter Stephen McCafferty is one of the best artists to emerge in 2025. He’s released a succession of great singles, showing off a writing talent that refuses to be pigeonholed.
Watch: Wax Mechanix shares new video clip for ‘Saltwalter Sisters’
Those who’ve been paying attention to the rock underground over the post-lockdown years will probably be aware of Wax Mechanix. The multi-instrumentalist has released a succession of great sounding, retro influenced tunes – and here’s another.
In the artist’s own words, it’s “a unique heavy jam”, and it’s easy to hear what he means. The opening riffs play off a bluesy melody, but the semi-busy acoustic slant gives the melody the kind of feel that seems a little proggy. Moving into the meat of the track, programmed loops and a chunkier riff lend a little influence from early Beck, but a huge vocal ensures any simarities end there.
Real Gone Presents: A Boston Round-Up, October 2025
As the Real Gone inbox continues to fill up, Boston continues to be a city that delivers a huge amount of new music every month. This trip back to the US will reacquaint people with a few familiar names: Lovina Falls presents some terrific alt-pop, Tiberius share a moody number that showcases their low key approach really effectively, and scene stalwarts The Dogmatics show their more melodic side on a great single. There are new faces to be discovered too, with a band celebrating a perfect post punk sound, a slice of reggae to remind you of the summer you’ve just left behind, and something dubbed “low rock”, which blends genres in an interesting way. We’re sure this lightning tour with the some of the city’s cult acts will see you coming away with a couple of new favourites!
*
CHEAP FIX – Soul Tune / Dead Mouth
‘Re-Animator Blues’, the first release from Texan garage punks Cheap Fix, really didn’t mess around. The two track 7” hit their potential audience with two speed driven bangers that valued an authentically raw sound. This immediately set them as an act to watch, assuming they didn’t suffer an immediate creative burnout.
THE REAL GONE SINGLES BAR #126
Welcome back to the Real Gone Singles Bar, the place where we explore some of the individual tracks that have landed in our inbox over the previous few weeks. As usual, we’ve received a huge amount of submissions – this continues to be one of the most popular aspects of our website – and we’ve picked eight tunes that we feel captures the true spirit of the great sounds floating around the underground as we move squarely into a cold, northern hemisphere autumn. Among other things, there’s a 60s cover from a familiar name; some brilliant indie pop; a pleasingly downbeat number with some great orchestration, and a country influenced track from a superb singer songwriter. As always, we hope you find something new to enjoy!
*