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 around, we bring you a fantastic number from a British alt-folk band, the return of some cosmic, psychy legends, a great piece of synth based material, some well crafted pop punk…and more. As always, we hope you find something new to enjoy!
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Taking elements from indie, shoegaze, pop and rock, Coming Up Roses have a rich sound that is often pleasingly varied. Although various musical influences can be heard within the UK band’s work, they use those in a way that is often interesting – and on their ‘I’m In Bed’ single (released in the early part of 2025), they sounded like no-one else. Further singles ‘Tired’ and ‘Over My Head’ cemented any feelings that Coming Up Roses were a band on the rise, and their full length album ‘How Did We Fall So Far?’ (released in June ’25) showed how the band weren’t just suited to soundbites; their best songs have a rich quality, playing brilliantly as part of a longer format.
In a year that saw a much overhyped Oasis reunion and an even more unlikely return for Britpop heroes Gene, Breeze mightn’t have been the most talked about band, but the three lads from Hull began 2025 by sharing one of their strongest singles to date.
‘Devils Hymn’ made an instant impression with its bombastic intro, coupling heavy beats with a huge sounding, blues rock influenced guitar sound. The absolutely crushing groove gave a brief insight into how Royal Blood might sound with a fierce lead guitarist, or if The Stone Roses’ ‘Love Spreads’ were to inspire something with a little more muscle. The song’s verses explored a more melodic sound, taking cues from more of an indie rock influence, dropping more than a hint of Embrace into an already potent mix. It’s no wonder the band had built up a reputation as a live act.
Towards the end of the first quarter of 2025, Bristolian indie rockers Oswald Slain released their debut EP ‘Kiss Me On The Mouth’, but this wasn’t the first time some of the band members had been in the spotlight. Guitarist vocalist Charlie Fitzgerald and drummer Rhii Williams had previously released material under the name Little Thief, and delivered one of 2021’s best albums. Realising they’d taken Little Thief’s garage rock sound as far as it could go, they teamed up with other musicians and branched out. Not that some of Oswald’s debut was massively far removed from the old sound; Fitz’s vocal retained a distinctive edge, and a couple of the songs definitely sounded like a logical extension of the Little Thief world. Nevertheless, ‘Kiss Me…’ was a strong first outing, and keeping the wheels greased, the band delivered an equally enjoyable follow up single ‘Firing Line’ barely a couple of months later.
Lunison’s debut EP ‘See Me As A Friend’ – released in 2024 – presented five tracks where a rock sound was twisted into some very interesting shapes. Its key cuts showed how varied the band could be: ‘Name 3 Songs’ managed to open with a riff that mixed garage rock and an almost post-grunge dirtiness, only to turn that on its head with a huge, melodic chorus full of ringing guitars sounding like a throwback to a great Gin Blossoms tune; ‘Smile, Cruel World’ borrowed from a couple of The Black Keys’ more groove-centric numbers, but added a more melodic vocal, again, calling back to a world of 90s pop-rock sounds, and ‘Velcro’ introduced a reverbed, 50s guitar twang in places, which set against a pumping bass and harmony vocals ended up sounding like a funky take on something from Arctic Monkeys ‘AM’.