Premier Jester aren’t afraid to mix genres. Since the release of their earliest singles ‘PJ Lovers’ and ‘Sales King’, the UK band have shared an energy driven sound that takes the guts of metalcore and splices its aggressive edge to a world of electronica and dance sounds, but also throws in a bit of retro alternative and some big choruses to create something huge. In many ways, their best work sounds like Electric Callboy, but steered in a slightly more accessible direction. As you might expect, such intensities work brilliantly in short bursts, making PJ masters of the digital single.
Tag Archives: alternative
ARROWS OF ATHENA – Daydreaming
Following a fuzz heavy intro that suggests a love of shoegaze, ‘Abandoned Love’ – the lead track from Arrows of Athena’s second album ‘Daydreaming’ – opens up to share a techy sounding slice of alternative rock-pop in a Garbage meets Yeah Yeah Yeahs style. It doesn’t take too long before the number’s brilliant blend of mechanical rhythms and contrasting flowing vocal begins to make an impression. Against some familiar sounding music, the track places a spotlight on vocalist Jac-Lyn Gibson, whose performance here is almost strong enough alone to carry the entire track, and definitely makes it easy to forgive what might be perceived as sharing too much of an obvious influence. The vocal shares an immediate power, calling out clearly despite being subjected to filters, and ultimately sounds like the perfect compliment to a great musical melody. As for that intro: it’s not a red herring. Guitarist Scott Lerner creeps through the cracks to fill the bridges with more of that pleasingly aggressive style, giving this track a superbly tough edge when needed. When released as a single in 2025, it sounded like one of the duo’s finest recordings to date; when experienced as part of this full length, its impact certainly isn’t diminished, despite being complimented by several other strong performances. If you’ve not heard Arrows of Athena before, this will leave a superb first impression.
THE REAL GONE SINGLES BAR #153
Welcome back to the Real Gone Singles Bar, the place where we explore some of the more interesting individual tracks that have landed in our inbox over the past few weeks. This time out, we’ve got a number with retro post punk leanings, a catchy piece of garage pop, a huge and jangly workout that falls between garage rock and melodic punk, something insanely heavy, and more besides… As always, we hope you find something new to enjoy.
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THE REAL GONE SINGLES BAR #150
With a number that blends a grungy heart with a more contemporary melodic hook, a throwback to post-grunge fused with Euro melodic metal, and a perfect slice of post punk, this visit to the Singles Bar is rather guitar based. That said, with a French singer songwriter applying a light touch, an absolutely fierce alt-pop number and a danceable piece of deep psych, it isn’t without variety. Then, in terms of massive curveballs, there’s even a well played salsa jam… As we wave goodbye to the first quarter of 2026, the singles keep coming…and as always, we hope you find something new to enjoy!
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LOVINA FALLS – Would That It Were EP
Valerie Forgione – aka Lovina Falls – creates a strange and sometimes dream-like world on her 2025 EP ‘Would That It Were’. Its five tracks create a great extension of the sounds shared on 2023’s ‘Calculating The Angle of Our Descent’, bending pop, synth, dream pop and melodic 90s influences into new shapes, on material that invites its audience to listen closely.