Fred Abong’s current album ‘Blindness’ is a bleak affair, but it’s the kind of record that fans of semi lo-fi material will eventually love. Despite being full of low key arrangements, the record’s best songs come with a surprising amount of texture, and a few plays uncovers a variety of dark soundscape that show off Abong’s DIY sound with a genuine strength.
Tag Archives: singer songwriter
THE REAL GONE SINGLES BAR #57
Welcome back to the Real Gone Singles Bar, the place where we explore some of the individual mp3s that have appeared in our inbox over the past few weeks. As we approach the middle of 2024, the submissions haven’t slowed down. This week, we bring you a pop laden treat, a couple of melodic punkers, a really great jazz track, an absolutely gold standard offering from a great singer songwriter, and more besides. As always, we hope you find something new to enjoy. If you do, then why not drop by and tell us? We’d love to hear from you…
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MARCELLA DETROIT – Jewel
Marcy Levy is a legend. Throughout the 70s and 80s, she put in some seriously hard yards as a session vocalist and touring singer, working with Eric Clapton, Bee Gees, Alice Cooper, Belinda Carlisle and many others. Clapton’s mellow blues ‘Better Make It Through Today’ aside, Marcy’s contributions to the guitarist’s 1975 album ‘There’s One In Every Crowd’ are the record’s highlight, and on recordings from the 1977 tour for ‘Slowhand’, she and second guitarist George Terry can be heard doing some seriously heavy lifting as the heart of the best band EC ever had. In the late 80s, Levy became famous as Marcella Detroit, one half of sophisticated pop duo Shakespears Sister; her unmistakable vocal gymnastics turned ‘You’re History’ from a good pop track into a great one, and she will be forever associated with their 1991 mega-hit ‘Stay’. Never one to be stuck in a musical rut, Marcella’s career powered forth and in the mid 90s, her second solo album, 1994’s ‘Jewel’ was a massive success.
THE REAL GONE SINGLES BAR #55
Welcome back to the Real Gone Singles Bar, the place where we explore some of the individual mp3s that have landed in our inbox over the past few weeks. As always, we’ve been swamped with submissions – although there’s always room for more! – and we’ve had a tough job picking out some of the best tunes. This week, the Singles Bar features some brilliant shoegaze, a couple of bluesy bits, a slice of indie folk, two very different styles of punk, and more besides. Hopefully you’ll find something new to enjoy…
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LEON FREAR – Wild Rice
A singer songwriter with a very old soul, Leon Frear channels various moods on his debut album ‘Wild Rice’. In his own words, his work is more concerned with “strong lyrics [than] sticking to one type of music”, but his singularity of voice and depth of mood throughout the ten songs actually results in a listen that’s surprisingly consistent. His distinctive vocal presence gives the material a sense of unity, but more than that, the themes of loss and of feeling lost create a strong narrative thread.