THE REAL GONE SINGLES BAR #103

This visit to the Singles Bar ends with some of our noisier picks from recent times, taking in a love letter to 90s grunge, a crushing metallic riff with alternative leanings and even a slab of old school thrash, but that’s not to say we’ve overlooked other musical interests. With a disco/electronica infused workout, a quirky track from an up and coming Irish singer-songwriter and some pure pop from a now familiar voice, the usual musical detours that have helped our weekly column retain interest are still very much present. As always, we hope you find something new to enjoy…

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Watch: Aursjoen releases new video for ‘Apollo’

In November 2024, Ria Aursjoen released her solo debut, the excellent ‘Strand’ EP. Although the material shared some common links with the artist’s band Octavian Winters, the six songs explored a lighter sound in places. With Ria adding elements of folk and dreampop to her rocky sound, the EP very much captured an artist sounding a little more mature.

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THE REAL GONE SINGLES BAR #102

Welcome back to the Real Gone Singles Bar, the place where we explore some of the individual tracks that’ve landed in our inbox over the past few weeks. For our rock loving regulars, this selection offers a great track from Fen man Doug Harrison and some alternative leanings from an up and coming Scottish band. Exploring other genres, there’s a perfect slice of folk, some twisted pop, and even a slab of synth pop from a familiar figure. As always, this is just a small selection of the recent submissions and there will be many more singles shared in the near future. In the meantime, we hope you find something new to enjoy…

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THE BUDDY SYSTEM FOREVER – The Most Famous Arena EP

Not to be confused with several bands called The Buddy System, The Buddy System Forever are a three piece indie rock band from Queens, New York and their members delight in sharing a massively retro sound that celebrates the glory days of 90s alternative rock. Across the five tracks that make up their 2025 EP ‘The Most Famous Arena’, you’ll hear a love for the legendary Dinosaur Jr, Superchunk and Pavement delivered in massively broad strokes. Much like other twenty first century bands that are so keen to look back at those plaid filled summers, of course, everything is recycled with love, and the material has a spark of its own.

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BOX – Born To Crawl EP

When it comes to chosen names, ‘Box’ feels rather cheeky. This one man band’s work refuses to be kept tidy, or easily placed within a genre. Or any kind of box. Beyond “cold, arty rock”, the songs on ‘Born To Crawl’ refuse to conform to any label, and certainly don’t fit any pre-conceived ideas you may have about a musician who has previously been associated with US punks Poison Idea. There are moments that, perhaps, fall a little further in line with multi-instrumentalist Andrew Stromstad’s work with blackened doom band Atriarch but, again, at its best, the Box sound feels very different. It’s certainly less heavy and although it feels more experimental, it’s actually more accessible than some of his past works. The heart of Box definitely shares like a fresh sound for Stromstad, making it the perfect side project.

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