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 couple of weeks. This time out, we welcome back an indie hero with a superb solo venture, celebrate some big, modern pop from a rather prolific artist, take in a couple of metal tracks and even make time for some classic sounding yacht rock. As always, we hope you like what you hear.
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Whether approaching an early Mudhoney aesthetic (‘MTV’), adopting a sound that blends the melodic indie of early Franz Ferdinand with heavier, almost grung breakdowns (‘Always Here’), delving into something much moodier and channelling Pavement (‘Sausage’), or throwing themselves head first into a world of minute long, punky bangers (the bulk of 2021’s ‘Ten’ “long player”), Das Kapitans often guarantee their audience a good time. For those who’ve followed the band since near the beginning, it’s been interesting to watch them grow.
There’s an obvious theme of “crossover” for this visit to the Singles Bar, with half of the featured tracks comprising two jazz fusion tracks, a blend of punk ‘n’ roll and alternative metal, and an unexpected noise from a French band that are really pushing the boundaries. With a great post-punk track and a familiar melodic punk act also sharing recent material, there are also a couple of very familiar touchstones here too, making it a very strong mix of material all round. As always, we hope you find something new to enjoy.
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Affiliated with the independent Socks On Records, Rudimentary Paste are label mates with brilliant noise makers Das Kapitans, Get The Fuck Outta Dodge, Al Pacinos Sister, and Soviet Films. That fact alone will give some listeners a reasonable idea of what to expect from the band’s ‘Six Examples of The Wilhelm Scream’ EP before even going in. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but even though this band actually features a couple of faces associated with other Socks On acts, the Paste sound isn’t just a carbon copy of their peers.
When it comes to chosen names, ‘Box’ feels rather cheeky. This one man band’s work refuses to be kept tidy, or easily placed within a genre. Or any kind of box. Beyond “cold, arty rock”, the songs on ‘Born To Crawl’ refuse to conform to any label, and certainly don’t fit any pre-conceived ideas you may have about a musician who has previously been associated with US punks Poison Idea. There are moments that, perhaps, fall a little further in line with multi-instrumentalist Andrew Stromstad’s work with blackened doom band Atriarch but, again, at its best, the Box sound feels very different. It’s certainly less heavy and although it feels more experimental, it’s actually more accessible than some of his past works. The heart of Box definitely shares like a fresh sound for Stromstad, making it the perfect side project.