This visit to the popular Singles Bar presents a variety of new and underground sounds. There’s a singer songwriter sharing a deep folk melody, the return of some British ska legends, and even a tune from a legendary Britpop act that’s a little different to many of their biggest hits. You’ll also find a great cover tune, a massive slab of Finnish metal, and more besides… As always, we hope you find something new to enjoy!
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At the end of 2025, the release of the ‘No Brakes’ single found Vancouver’s Chief State in great form. Sounding like a tribute to the melodic punk sounds of the late 90s, the track fused the thunderous rhythmic qualities of peak No Use For A Name with the poppier edges of Sum 41, utilising strong harmony vocals throughout. Although a really melodic chorus should’ve been the track’s best feature, the already impressive performance boasted an even better middle eight where the pop punk riffs gave way to something a little sharper, showing how tight the band’s rhythm section could be.
On their 2024 release ‘Fun Time’, Mala Vista tore through nine tracks of relatively no nonsense, guitar driven material that carried the spirit of ’77 and the sounds of CBGB’s into the twenty first century. Although always more melodic than their fellow countrymen Lower Class Brats and The Casualties when approaching punk, at the release’s best, Mala Vista still conveyed a rough and ready sound. Maybe more importantly, it showed they could whip up some great arrangements: ‘Juana Le Cubana’ took a detour from punk into garage rock and power pop that sounded like an unreleased Real Kids number, and a couple of other tracks shared punk ‘n’ roll lead guitar breaks, proving further that classic sounds never really goes out of style.
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 previous couple of weeks. This time out, we bring you a near perfect piece of acid jazz, the return of an emerging singer songwriter, some retro rock from Ireland, a familiar voice from the US punk scene with a great side-project, and more besides… As always, we hope you find something new to enjoy!
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The first new music from the Boston punks Already Dead in almost a year, the band’s 2025 EP ‘I Think It’s Time To Leave…’ is in danger of being over as soon as it’s begun. Packing five high octane numbers into a little over ten minutes, the release barely gives the listener time to catch their breath, let alone provide an ideal opportunity to take stock of what they’re hearing. In terms of blending the classic Ramonescore sound with some old school, sometimes very British sounding punky thrills, the material really hits the mark, though, regardless of the release’s obvious brevity.