As we head into the final quarter of 2025, it’s time to take a moment to look back over the past few months. It’s been a great time for new releases — especially on an underground level — and, as a result, we’ve been insanely busy at Real Gone.
We’ve reached the end of the first quarter of 2025 already. In some ways, it feels like the time since Xmas has flown by, but thinking back, January seemed to drag on for three months on its own.
It’s been a really busy three months at Real Gone. We’ve posted over fifty new articles in that time, received countless review submissions, and entertained people with a bunch of weekly Singles Bar features. There has been so much great new music this year that it feels like we’ve only just scratched the surface.
It seems unbelievable that we’re now half way through the year, but here we are. We discovered and shared a truckload of new music during the first quarter, half expecting things to fizzle out as we moved towards the northern hemisphere summer, but it really wasn’t the case. If anything, the year’s second quarter was every bit as strong.
Back in the 90s, a series of compilation albums called ‘Indie Top 20’ provided exciting listening for a generation of NME readers. The series of cassettes (and latterly CDs) brought together 20 indie hits and underground bangers of the day, providing what would become an important time capsule for future generations.
The compilers were unafraid to pitch the era’s heavyweights Pop Will Eat Itself and Carter USM against the then up and coming Sleeper and Salad; it also gave a huge platform to bands that now seem too often forgotten, like Tiny Monroe and 18 Wheeler. Whatever appeared, fans absorbed like sponges. Those compilations were often responsible for creating cast iron favourites.
It’s that time of year again when Real Gone takes stock of all of the great music that’s been sent our way over the last twelve months. Changes in how people consume their music has meant shifting from providing a free download to offering an album length stream, but the variety and quality of the new music remains very high.