Barely three lines into the opening number of his solo debut, experimental musician Max Rael has already embraced differences not being like anyone else and told his audience he feels exhausted. The frankness in which the artist’s neuro divergence is discussed throughout ‘Slightly Less Than Human’ is a signifier of the album’s honest approach as a whole. ‘We Are The Enemy’ isn’t so much a collection of songs; more a world of personal statements, shared with a heart and disarming honesty, but also with the hope that Rael will attract kindred spirits. Obviously, this doesn’t aim for a broad commercial potential, but as albums go, it’s never less than interesting.
Tag Archives: electronica
THE REAL GONE SINGLES BAR #114
Welcome back to the Real Gone Singles Bar, the place where we explore some of the individual tracks that have been sent our way over the past few weeks. This selection is another genuinely mixed bag, sharing – amongst other things – a country track, a dance number, a perfect homage to 90s shoegaze, and a tune from an up and coming rock band featuring a huge vocal. As always, we hope you find something new to enjoy.
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amilost – Chapter A Heartbreak EP
With members hailing from Norway and Scotland, amilost are a duo with a truly international flavour. Vocalist Sigrid Zeiner’s vocal style taps into a very melodic vein of Scandinavian singer songwriter fare, somewhere on the fringes of adult pop – something which dominated their breakthrough single ‘Pillowside’ in 2022. Multi instrumentalist Ross Craib isn’t shy of allowing his geographical roots to show, sometimes strongly, adding a traditional folk/Celtic melody to a sound that’s been dubbed having a “sense of cinematic grandeur”. On amilost’s ‘Good Morning’ single from 2023, Sigrid’s strong vocal was augmented by a choir of smooth voices that offered more than a strong callback to classic Clannad. This gave amilost a very easy vibe, but this certainly helped to bring out the very best in their very adult oriented sound.
MAX RAEL – Slightly Less Than Human / When The Only Winning Move Is Not To Play
Max Rael’s debut single ‘Brighter Future’ pushed the alternative envelope by applying spoken word passages to bleak sounding synth backdrops, creating an almost dystopian musical landscape. The number’s darker side was effectively offset by the History of Guns man offering listeners a positive lyric, where he suggested we can look to the past and learn from mistakes to forge a brighter future. Issued at a time when the world seemed incredibly negative with seemingly little escape from a political turmoil, Rael’s optimism – no matter how obtusely applied – offered fans of less mainstream music a small beacon of hope.
KILL YOUR BOYFRIEND – Disco Kills EP
From the release of their 2011 EP through to 2022’s ‘Voodoo’, Kill Your Boyfriend have steadily crafted an impressive mix of post punk and heavy electronica sounds. Over the course of more than a decade, they’ve remained true to themselves, never really sought commercial acceptance, or softened their sound. On 2025’s ‘Disco Kills’, there are a couple of interesting musical deviations, but the bulk of their material remains incredibly harsh.