Twelve years is a long time between releases, but Kate Bush doesn’t have the monopoly in disappearing for that long, since ‘Strange Life’ – the first new Howling Bells album since 2014 – marks a long overdue return for the Aussie dream pop trio. Despite the passing years, the record’s eleven tracks actually sound like a perfect continuation from previous releases, and although this may seem a little safe, it results in an album that fans will take to in a heartbeat, and will introduce those who missed the band the first time around to a set of songs that’s almost guaranteed they’ll backtrack.
Tag Archives: shoegaze
LOWSUNDAY – Ghost Machine White EP
In terms of taking a break, twenty six years is a long holiday by any band’s standards, but that’s exactly how long Lowsunday were AWOL between their second and third releases. The musical landscape may have changed a great deal since the death of the 90s, but the first sounds shared by this Pittsburgh based alternative/shoegaze/goth band at the end of 2025 found the musicians sticking rigidly to what they do best. In many ways, the resulting ‘White EP’ is all the better for that. Yes, the five tracks sound very retro, but in fairness, the strong gothy element in their sound was already retro by 1999. What the five tracks on this EP achieve – whether deliberately or otherwise – is to bring a massive pang of nostalgia which, coming at a time when the world feels as if it’s heading into even darker places, is certainly most welcome.
KEELEY – Girl On The Edge Of The World
Since the release of their first full length release ‘Floating Above Everything Else’ in 2023, Keeley Moss and her eponymously named band have felt like a massively important part of the indie underground. That record’s heavy nods to a shoegaze and dreampop past ensured listeners who spent the 1990s as wide-eyed twenty somethings found an immediate connection with the KEELEY sound, while the lyrical content – heavily influenced by the narrative surrounding the murder of young traveller Inga Maria Hauser – gave some great tunes a cerebral edge. 2024’s ‘Beautiful Mysterious’ repeated the formula, but certainly didn’t sound like a band treading water. If anything, the album sounded a little more confident; richer, even, and it was clear there was certainly more of a story to be told regarding the Hauser case.
Listen: Check out ‘Hungry For The Prize’, the new single from KEELEY
With the ongoing promotion of their ‘Beautiful Mysterious’ album, several successful live dates and a massive upturn in their online following, cult dreamgaze band KEELEY – fronted by the charismatic Keeley Moss – had a hugely successful 2025.
The beginning of 2026 will see the band going back on the road, this time to promote yet another new album, ‘Girl On The Edge of The World’. The ever-prolific Moss claims it is the first one that truly “captures the sonic swirl of [the band’s] sound, which suggests it’ll be a genuine treat for those who’ve already enjoyed ‘Floating Above Everything Else’ (2023) and the following year’s ‘Beautiful Mysterious’.
THE REAL GONE SINGLES BAR #139
Welcome back to the Real Gone Singles Bar, the place where we throw a spotlight on some of the best new tracks that have landed in our inbox over the previous few weeks. It’s quite a rocky selection this time out, with an Irish band fusing some early 90s riffs with a distinctive voice, a groove laden track that takes the bones of garage rock and adds a heavier twist and a rock band reworking a 70s classic in an even harder style, but there’s variety too, with a dash of country and a couple of singer songwriters awaiting your attention. As always, we hope you find something new to enjoy…
*