At the point where the UK summer kicked in, Kelowna released an excellent single, ‘Insanity’. A track that introduced the Scottish rock band to many, it managed to mix different guitar driven styles, from melodic hard rock to stoner grooves, in such a way that it made this still new band sound rather grand, but without any feeling of grandiosity.
This visit to the Singles Bar shares one of our most impressive track selections in a while. Among the eight picks, we’ve got some fine soul-jazz sounds, a brilliant piece of retro power pop, the return of a genuine British legend, along with a clutch of underground singer-songwriters who really deserve your attention. For those who still associate Real Gone with our hard rock and metal content, there’s something great for you here too. As always, we hope you find something new to enjoy!
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‘Insanity’, the new single from Scottish rock band Kelowna, opens with an absolutely killer riff. Adopting earthy tones with an almost stoner-like sound, the guitars launch into something very bluesy, but also latching onto a genuine crunch which should appeal to a hard rock loving audience.
In 2025, Stephen McCafferty released a string of impressive singles. The best of the bunch, ‘I Only Want To Hear Sad Songs’ shared a strong pop rock sound that hinted at a love of The Killers but added a distinctive Scottish accent, while ‘I Am The Buffalo’ took a similar sense of the melodic and added a light folky touch. ‘Rubber Glove’ leant a little further into an indie pop sound, but with the help of a buoyant melody and hooky lead guitar part, created another number that really helped to give the performer’s debut LP ‘Monsters and Lullabies’ a strong musical backbone.
Those paying very close attention to the rock underground over the past couple of years may well have encountered Desert Kites. The Dundee based band have released a string of singles and an EP that gained some positive online press.
The band are back with the surprisingly sparky ‘Simple Cure’, which takes their riff-based approach in a slightly different direction from the EP’s post grunge sounds..