Real Gone – A Decade of Deep Cuts

In November 2019, Real Gone reached its ten year anniversary of being online. To celebrate, we shared thoughts on ten albums we loved from that decade. That list came with two strict rules beyond becoming favourites: each year had to be represented by one album and each album had to in some way have helped our site to become more established.

As we reach the end of the year, it’s time to look back more broadly on some of our favourite albums of the ’10s; albums that have kept us listening for pleasure long after the reviews and coverage have been completed. If you’re a regular visitor to Real Gone, lots of these names will be familiar by now, but we hope this time for looking back helps to reconnect with a couple of old favourites, or find you a new one somewhere along the way. [Full reviews & streams can be found by clicking on the individual titles.]

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A Decade Of Real Gone: Ten Years, Ten Albums

It’s hard to believe that Real Gone has reached its tenth anniversary. There have been a vast amount of albums and EPs reviewed in that time. Some captured a moment somewhere in the world of DIY recordings; others continue to be unloved by the masses but we’re still more than glad we got to help spread the word in our own way.

Then there have been those albums destined to become classics; albums we’ve continued to love long after our reviews were shared. For our tenth anniversary, it seemed only appropriate that we took a look back at a few landmark albums from our first decade online – an album from each year we think holds up well; recordings that continue to be important to us and have somehow allowed us to build a following and still have an internet presence… Ten years – ten albums… Every one a classic.

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Real Gone’s End of Year Round-Up, 2018

In 2018, Real Gone celebrated its ninth birthday. It’s been a long and hard road to this point, but we’re pleased to be celebrating our most successful year online to date. Hundreds of new albums have been heard and a record number of gigs have been attended. Not only has this year been our biggest success…it’s also been our favourite.

Nearing the close of 2018, it’s time to look back and celebrate our favourite events – including our top ten  album releases…

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Normally, each year has an album that’s a clear stand out. Making that distinction this time around has been somewhat trickier, so we’re awarding a joint “album of the year” to two very different albums. If that seems like a cop-out, we don’t care…there really was only a hair’s breadth between them.

Drum roll…

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JET BLACK SEA – The Overview Effect

The work of producer/multi-instrumentalist Michel Simons and multi-instrumentalist Adrian Jones, Jet Black Sea was originally conceived as a side project to Jones’s prog rock band Nine Stones Close. A vehicle for experimentation, their debut release ‘The Path of Least Existence’ mixed elements of prog rock, ambient music, electronica and post rock with fantastic results. A follow-up ‘Absorption Lines’ was almost five years in the making. Absorbing more mellow prog rock sounds than before – presumably since Nine Stones Close had, by that time, veered towards a more prog metal sound on their 2016 LP ‘Leaves’ – the album was well received among online prog fans.

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Keep ‘Em Peeled!: Real Gone’s Top Music Predictions For 2018

As we head into a new year at Real Gone, we’re committed to our ongoing voyage of musical discovery…and we really hope you’ll join us for the ride. Our inbox is bulging with new promos and we’re ready to share our opinions with you all.

Before we set off, though, here’s a quick look forward. There will be a lot of musicians either coming up through the ranks or making their first important musical statements throughout ’18 and – as always – we’ll do our very best to champion some of the more interesting but, in the meantime, here are our five picks most hotly tipped to either make the leap to bigger things or release favourite tracks. Continue reading