Welcome back to the Real Gone Singles Bar, the place where we investigate some of the individual tracks that have landed in our inbox over the past few weeks. There’s a really smart selection this time out which, among other things, shares some great instrumental sounds, welcomes back some ska heroes, explores the darker side of an Australian singer songwriter, and even takes an opportunity to introduce someone brand new. As always, we hope you find something to enjoy!
*
When The Bedside Morale burst onto the scene with their debut single ‘Safeword’ in 2023, it immediately became clear that they were a band to keep a close eye on over the coming months. That single might’ve taken the guts of a couple of Queens of The Stone Age numbers and tempered the familiar riffs with a bigger hook or two, but the way these Bristol based lads took their influences and sharpened them suggested there was more here at stake than lazy recycling. A second single, ‘Bitter Things’ appeared before the end of the year, but fans wouldn’t get a proper EP from The Bedside Morale until the summer of 2024. By this time, everyone had spent months with those two singles rotating on playlists, ruminating the possibility of even better things ahead.
In a shift from the semi-gothic sounds on their debut EP, Pollyanna Blue opt for a bigger, rockier sound on their current single ‘Vultures’.
Welcome back to the Real Gone Singles Bar, the place where we explore some of the more interesting mp3s and individual tunes that’ve landed in our inbox over the previous few weeks. In proper Singles Bar tradition, this week’s column covers a lot of musical ground by taking in country and a couple of singer songwriters alongside some extreme metal. There’s even time to introduce a new rock band. It’s unlikely that everything here will appeal to everyone, but as always, we hope you find something new to enjoy.
*
Following a run of enjoyable digital singles, Octavian Winters released their debut EP ‘The Line Or Curve’ in October 2023. Rounding up the band’s previously available tracks and premiering the excellent ‘Velveteen’, its five songs explored an old school goth sound, but by blending that with a much tougher post-punk influence, the release shared a superbly dark mood laced with very strong melodies throughout. One of the EP’s highlights, ‘Surreal’ managed to bring the cold brilliance of ‘Faith’ era Cure into the realms of the more modern, potentially making it amenable to fans of bands like Lacuna Coil, and the combination of Jay Denton’s huge bass melodies and Ria Aursjoen’s soaring 80s vocals resulted in something atmospheric. With slow but wondrous melodies underscored by ringing guitar, it showed how classic 80s goth rock riffs and melodies could sound just as thrilling forty years on.