Across a series of digital singles in 2021, Boston’s The Chelsea Curve delivered a bunch of top notch tunes. At their best, the tracks sounded like unreleased gems by the likes of Pearl Harbor & The Explosions and Holly & The Italians put through a mod-ish filter, such was the band’s knack for hitting the listener with a world of classic riffs and big, very retro hooks.
Tag Archives: retro
THE LEMON DROP GANG – Leave The World Behind / Let The World Stay
On a couple of singles released in 2023, Tucson’s The Lemon Drop Gang cemented their very retro sound on tracks that melded garage rock with surf, and roughly hewn 60s pop with an obvious love of Phil Spector’s Wall of Sound. Nobody would ever have called the results perfect, but to expect perfection from a band such as this would be to miss the point, since The Lemon Drop Gang champion a fun aesthetic and they deliver a raw sound that – if you’re into it – can thrill purely because of its imperfections.
THE REAL GONE SINGLES BAR #103
This visit to the Singles Bar ends with some of our noisier picks from recent times, taking in a love letter to 90s grunge, a crushing metallic riff with alternative leanings and even a slab of old school thrash, but that’s not to say we’ve overlooked other musical interests. With a disco/electronica infused workout, a quirky track from an up and coming Irish singer-songwriter and some pure pop from a now familiar voice, the usual musical detours that have helped our weekly column retain interest are still very much present. As always, we hope you find something new to enjoy…
*
PEARL HANDLED REVOLVER – Tales You Lose
In 2016, British rock band Pearl Handled Revolver released ‘If The Devil Casts His Net’, an excellent album of dark rock tunes taking in influence from The Doors, with a swathe of riffs from Queens of The Stone Age and a pinch of early Deep Purple. They’d released material prior to this, but this record is where their brand of retro rock really came into its own. Over the course of the years that followed, the band played a huge number of gigs – even appearing on the bill for the A New Day Festival in 2023 as support for Caravan, Ozric Tentacles and System 7 (the electronica duo featuring the legendary Steve Hillage and Miquette Giraudy) – and released a couple more albums.
THE BUDDY SYSTEM FOREVER – The Most Famous Arena EP
Not to be confused with several bands called The Buddy System, The Buddy System Forever are a three piece indie rock band from Queens, New York and their members delight in sharing a massively retro sound that celebrates the glory days of 90s alternative rock. Across the five tracks that make up their 2025 EP ‘The Most Famous Arena’, you’ll hear a love for the legendary Dinosaur Jr, Superchunk and Pavement delivered in massively broad strokes. Much like other twenty first century bands that are so keen to look back at those plaid filled summers, of course, everything is recycled with love, and the material has a spark of its own.