Welcome back to the Real Gone Singles Bar, the place where we explore some of the individual tracks that have been sent our way over the past few weeks. This selection is another genuinely mixed bag, sharing – amongst other things – a country track, a dance number, a perfect homage to 90s shoegaze, and a tune from an up and coming rock band featuring a huge vocal. As always, we hope you find something new to enjoy.
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Unless you happen to be Guided By Voices, it’s rare that albums come together quickly, but some take a fair bit longer than others. It’s fair to say that this album from Happy Little Clouds had a gestation period that was a little longer than most. Its lead single appeared on Bandcamp almost a year and a half ahead of the full length release, and other tracks have been slowly drip fed to an audience over time. In terms of promotion and with everyone streaming, this actually turned out to be a good move: at the point where people might’ve started to forget about this Boston based trio, they’d pop up with another tune, and receive another round of positive online press.
Befitting of something born from a slow creative process, ‘Embers’ is bigger than a mere collection of tracks. There are lyrical themes of questioning, of introspection, and an underlying aspect of emotional growth and change. This makes the material more sophisticated than some of its very 90s, often feel good arrangements might suggest on a surface level.
We’ve reached the halfway point of 2025, and the digital singles still keep coming! There are a couple of familiar names appearing in this visit to the Singles Bar, but with a mix of genres and the help of a really inspiring cover tune, this selection continues our streak of great submissions. Alongside a country singer reviving a tune that deserves to find a new audience, we’ve got the debut track from a new rock band from Belfast, a semi acoustic piece from an interesting solo venture, a strong throwback to 70s pop-rock, and more besides. As always, we hope you find something new to enjoy.
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He might not be a genuine household name, but Charlie Nieland has had a busy career. He’s written material with Rufus Wainwright, Scissor Sisters and Blondie, and produced a number of albums for some lesser known indie rock bands, but – familiar name or not – one look at his extensive credits on Discogs shows him to be a man in demand.
‘The Ocean Understands’, a four track EP released in June 2025, puts Nieland even more in the spotlight. The solo recording finds him playing a variety of instruments (everything except the drums, and a featured guitar on one track), as well as handling all vocals. The material really showcases someone with a broad array of talents, even at times where his own songwriting mightn’t aim for that immediate hit.
Formed just before almost the entire world went into a pandemic related lockdown, Orchid Symmetry have released a steady stream of digital singles and a couple of EPs since 2020. The best of the singles, 2022’s ‘Monsters and Demons’ eschewed most of the band’s heavier tendencies in favour of an ominous sounding riff that reworked alternative sounds from the 60s for a contemporary hard rock crowd. Parts of the melody sounded if they were distantly related to ‘House of The Rising Sun’, whilst other elements conveyed the all round moodiness of The Doors and the strange paranoia at the heart of Love’s ‘Forever Changes’. Despite taking various older elements and throwing them into a blender, a very natural vocal and occasionally abrasive guitar tone provided a more contemporary sound and also a very strong link with prior Orchid Symmetry tunes.