LITTLE ALBERT – The Road Not Taken

At the point where the Covid-19 pandemic was about to smother the world, Albert Piccolo – masquerading as blues musician Little Albert – released the genuinely excellent ‘Swamp King’. Since it featured some superb power trio based sounds with influences from Gary Moore, Jimi Hendrix and Robin Trower, the album genuinely represented the kind of thing that most blues/rock enthusiasts would love, but from a promotional perspective, the timing couldn’t have been worse. With much bigger things at stake, at least socially, it became one of the year’s many “lost” recordings in many ways.

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THE REAL GONE SINGLES BAR #75

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 previous couple of weeks. We think this selection is an interesting one, with something to entertain a broad range of different ears. We’ve got an acoustic based singer songwriter who sounds like they’re heading for big things, some re-promotion for a rock based banger, something with a ska heart that’s almost timeless, a bit of pop infused country, and more besides. As always, we hope you’ll find something new to enjoy!

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THE REAL GONE SINGLES BAR #55

Welcome back to the Real Gone Singles Bar, the place where we explore some of the individual mp3s that have landed in our inbox over the past few weeks. As always, we’ve been swamped with submissions – although there’s always room for more! – and we’ve had a tough job picking out some of the best tunes. This week, the Singles Bar features some brilliant shoegaze, a couple of bluesy bits, a slice of indie folk, two very different styles of punk, and more besides. Hopefully you’ll find something new to enjoy…

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SILVEROLLER – At Dawn

With its stomping rhythm, massive glam rock infused guitar chords and rousing vocal, Silveroller’s debut single ‘Hold’ immediately marked out the band as one to watch. There wasn’t anything particularly unique about the track, but it was a near perfect example of great musicians taking an old sound and recycling it with a lot of charm. With that followed by the mellow ‘Come On, Come In’ showcasing the flip side of the Silveroller sound, there was definitely a feeling that their upcoming debut EP might be something rather special.

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20 WATT TOMBSTONE – The Chosen Few

20 Watt Tombstone’s three contributions to the 2016 split ‘Death Blues vs. The Dirty Spliff’ (shared with Left Lane Cruiser) showcased a band who instinctively knew their way around superb riffs. Those tunes straddled melody and heaviness in an almost perfect way, showcasing a band capable of wielding a great, live sounding tone, often matching the likes of Black Label Society and Black Stone Cherry in terms of chunky retro coolness. Unfortunately, they weren’t exactly speedy in following up that recording. A few years came and went without a word, and then a pandemic lockdown delayed any progress a little further.

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