THE REAL GONE SINGLES BAR #144

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 last few weeks. This time out, we’re pleased to share an absolutely cracking debut from some Scottish indie rockers, an uncategorisable recording that fuses at least three different genres, and even find some old favourites taking a massively unexpected approach. There’s also a slab of garage rock, some synth imbibed pop and a different approach to power pop to be found along the way. As always, we hope you find something new to enjoy!

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No Matter Where You Go: Silver Dollar Room (2024-2026)

On 16th January 2026, Silver Dollar Room announced the upcoming release of a new single. The same day, they broke the news to their fans that this would be their final recording.

They might not have reached the status of a band that were selling out big venues, but over a few short years, they made their mark on the Scottish underground rock scene and would certainly be missed by those who’d taken note of their work.

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Listen: Silver Dollar Room share final single ‘Black Widow’

Scottish rockers Silver Dollar Room had a very busy two years with their release of their ‘Gilded Echoes’ album and its acoustic counterpart in 2024, and the almost equally enjoyable ‘Can’t Rain All The Time’ and a piano-based reworking of the entire album both appearing in 2025.

With the announcement of a brand new non album single ‘Black Widow’ coming just two weeks into 2026, it appeared on the surface as if the band were setting themselves up for yet another busy year. However, the announcement was coupled with the news that the band were to split soon after, making ‘Black Widow’ their swansong.

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STEPHEN McCAFFERTY – Monsters And Lullabies

Scottish singer songwriter Stephen McCafferty first reached an audience as part of indie rock band Return To The Sun, with whom he gained support from Radio X, while still broadcasting under the XFM name. After the band dissolved, Stephen disappeared. It seemed that, despite support from some high places, he wasn’t going to persue a career in music any longer.

He returned as as solo artist in 2020 with a digital single, ‘Spectre of Light’, but due to everyone being more concerned with a global pandemic and everything closing down, it didn’t appear to make a huge impact. Following another spell out of the spotlight, Stephen re-appeared again in 2024, by which time, the musical landscape looked rather different. His songs, however, remained as solidly written as ever, and his track ‘What Are We Waiting For’ – released digitally in January of that year – re-introduced listeners to a composer capable of a sharing thoughtful lyric, but just as importantly, someone blessed with a melodic ear that could potentially take his new material to an even keener fan base.

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THE REAL GONE SINGLES BAR #133

Welcome back to the Singles Bar, the place where we explore some of the more interesting individual tracks that have landed in our inbox over the previous few weeks. This time out, we’ve got a really arty track with a strong 70s undercurrent, a disarmingly honest number from a young, up and coming singer-songwriter, some vaguely baroque adult oriented pop, a legendary band fusing different styles in an unexpected way…and more. As always, we hope you find something new to enjoy!

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