Grab another free sampler from Rum Bar Records

It’s only been a few weeks since Rum Bar Records gave out the excellent ‘XOXOXO, Volume One’ sampler showcasing some of their current roster and upcoming releases, but the label is already giving away yet more music to satisfy your underground rock and pop needs.

‘Rocktober II’ features a few current bits and pieces, but in a brilliant contrast to ‘XOXOXO’, it digs much further back into the label’s history, providing a superb recap for those who’ve only just discovered Rum Bar and their family of musicians.

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K7s – Take 1

What would happen if you took a member of the Bullet Proof Lovers, a member of Spanish punkers Los Reactivos and a member of the Spanish band Airbag and set them to work in the recording studio? You’d end up with K7s, one of the finest pop punk outfits to release an album since the genre’s glory days of the 1990s. Yes, the K7s’ debut is that good…and in in almost every way. It’s hugely indebted to days gone by when pop punk meant pop punk and not whiny music with an overdriven guitar riff, but that’s every reason why it’s great. Continue reading

AIN’T NO JOKE: Real Gone Sampler #9

A yearly tradition, the Real Gone Sampler is one of the most popular things in our calendar. In previous years, we’ve given away great music by Kurt Baker, The 1957 Tail Fin Fiasco and Black Moth. Every year, the project rounds up the very best in DIY acts and aims to get great music out to a new audience.

On occasion, we’ve even been lucky enough to give you two end of year samplers. This year, the download is only one disc long, but we bring you over seventy minutes of underground sounds. We’ve got dream pop, shoegaze, roots rock, garage rock, singer songwriters and a whole bunch more. It could just be the best Real Gone freebie to date.

As always, reviews for each album can be found behind the band name links.

Sleeve art designed by Elena Barrio.

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BULLET PROOF LOVERS – Shot Through The Heart

In 2015, singer songwriter and power pop champion Kurt Baker capitalised on his escalating popularity in Europe by teaming up with a bunch of Spanish garage rock and bar band heroes…and Bullet Proof Lovers was born. Not so much out of necessity, but from fun, and the resulting mini-album (which had a belated US release in 2016) saw Baker tackling some of his punkiest tendencies since his days with The Leftovers.

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Stream new track from Bullet Proof Lovers before US release!

At the end of March, the second release from Bullet Proof Lovers hits US shores.  We got to hear it early at Real Gone and can confidently say it’s an absolute belter of a long-player.  Everything the previous mini-album promised comes through big style:  punky workouts, big chorus hooks and even more of the new wave aspects usually associated with frontman Kurt Baker’s solo career.  It’s got a little of everything needed for achieving that feel good factor.

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