After forming in 2022, it didn’t take Paradise Sins to attract the attention of the media outlets who still champion an “old school” brand of hard rock. By 2024, they’d received high praise for their debut EP, and the future continued to look pretty bright.
THE REAL GONE SINGLES BAR #119
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 past few weeks. Highlights this time around include an absolutely gorgeous, stripped down tune from a rising singer songwriter, some really quirky alt-pop, and country tinged pop workout that feels really positive. For those hoping to find something just a little tougher, there’s a pair of numbers that bring the sounds of 90s and 00s emo screaming into the present. As always, we hope you find something new to enjoy.
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CHIMPAN A – The Air That I Breathe / Karl’s Song
Over the years, Albert Hammond’s ‘The Air That I Breathe’ has been recorded by numerous artists. The Hollies’ recording from 1974 remains its most famous incarnation, but dig through the archives and you’ll discover other notable versions from Dana Gillespie, Judy Collins, AOR band Alien, Olivia Newton-John, Swedish pop band The Tuesday Girls (latterly The Tuesdays), and even Hank Williams, Jr. It seems to be one of those tracks that never really goes away, but few have breathed as much new life into this well worn number than pop-prog collective Chimpan A.
Listen: Tooth Gore reveals new single ‘Uncomfortable’
In June 2025, one man band Tooth Gore released their excellent ‘For Losers, By Losers’ album, an almost filler free collection that drew influence from melodic punk, surf rock, power pop and even post rock to create a riff driven collection that really captured the spirit of the DIY artist’s earlier singles.
CANDY RIOT – Mirrors (A Covers EP)
Candy Riot may well have formed in the 2020s and become a mainstay of the Texas club scene since 2022, but the band’s collective heart and head appears to be living somewhere in the wilds of 1984. Their ‘Nico Loretto’ album from 2024 is absolutely loaded with superb retro pop, and its best songs blend the new wave aesthetic of the skinny tie brigade from the early years of US MTV with synth sounds pulled straight off early Depeche Mode albums, Ultravox’s ‘Vienna’ and Soft Cell’s brilliant – and eternally grubby – ‘Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret’. A combination of really bright sounding arrangements and great, harmonious pop vocals result in the kind of listen that feels nostalgic, even when the material is unfamiliar.