This visit to the Singles Bar is big on variety. New country sounds meet with a late 50s tribute; contemporary goths take a surprisingly catchy turn, while a well loved track is redressed in a strikingly new way, and a cult act share a perfectly arranged, 90s inspired workout that’s as good an advert as any for their current retrospective disc. With the eight picks exploring a genuinely broad mix of styles and genres, we hope – as always – you find something new to enjoy.
*
Welcome back to the Real Gone Singles Bar, the place where we explore some of the more interesting tracks that have landed in our inbox over the past few weeks. This time around, you’ll find a great example of alt-metal, an unexpected gem from a legend of 80s goth, a decent slice of power pop, well crafted tunes from a couple of singer songwriters, and more… As always, we hope you find something new to enjoy!
*
Having put Indonesian Junk on hold, Daniel James resurrected his old punk band Chinese Telephones in 2024. At the point where it seemed that might be his main focus for a while, the ever restless musician appeared with a new band The Daniel James Gang at the beginning of 2025. Their debut EP mixed garage rock with power pop and a pinch of proto-punk to deliver something high on energy, and occasionally even bigger on grit. The material didn’t all work to the musicians’ best advantage – ‘Misery’ (written before the Gang were in place) – felt as if James were just marking time, looking for new inspiration, but the title cut ‘Darkness Over This Town’ introduced far more of a power pop influence than James had explored before, and this lean towards broader melodies really helped most of the new material to stand out.
Back in 2023, The Summertimes released one of the year’s best albums with their self-titled disc. Their follow up release, the ‘Luminous’ EP offers fans (and soon to be fans) more of the same in many ways. Rather than suggesting a lack of imagination, it proves that the Aussie power pop band knows instinctively where their musical strength lies and, as a result, the five songs that make up the short release sit very comfortably alongside the previous LP’s best material.
This visit to the popular Singles Bar takes in a few newer names representing the worlds of power pop, alt metal, and alternative sounds. There’s also the return of couple of underground talents, and also a really cool comeback single from a name that made waves back in the 90s. With the usual focus on highlighting tracks destined for a cult crowd and a pleasing variety, we hope you find something new to enjoy…
*