The eight picks that make up this selection for the Singles Bar cover a lot of musical ground. Joining a couple of superb singer songwriters, there’s a reggae-centric number from some legends of British ska, a beautiful track that pushes beyond the boundaries of dream pop, a slab of great post punk, and more besides. It’s one of our stronger selections in a while. As always, we hope you find something new to enjoy!
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Between forming in 2022 and releasing their debut in 2026, New Hamsphire’s The Selectmen had doubled the size of their line-up, but on the basis of the material that forms the ‘POP! RIP…’ EP, it was definitely the right move. On these five songs, none of the eight members are in any way surplus; the band’s extended membership really breathes life into a blend of ska and soul in a way that sounds invigorating, despite the influences being somewhat obvious. Not that great ska needs to break new ground, of course. It’s about rousing an audience, and that’s something The Selectmen do particularly well.
It seems inconceivable that ‘On The Dancefloor’ is The Planet Smashers’ tenth album, much in the same way that it seems inconceivable that it comes twenty years after fan favourite ‘Unstoppable’, and three decades after the death of Sublime frontman Bradley Nowell. Time is a funny thing.
They might not have had the commercial success as Real Big Fish or Less Than Jake (at least in the UK, where hard touring has made those bands a big draw since the late 90s), but years of grafting have made The Planet Smashers an integral part of the transatlantic ska world. There have been times when it’s been hard to work out why. Despite being great musicians, they’ve not always shown signs of being particularly great songwriters, with so much of their earlier work being reliant on one line hooks, delivered ad nauseum to the point of absolute annoyance.
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 past few weeks. This time out, the SB takes in a little country, a couple of arty numbers that cross genres, and also welcomes back an up and coming singer-songwriter. With the return of a much loved ska band and a great pop number also present, we hope you find something new to enjoy!
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As 2024 began to draw to a close, Buster Shuffle had already started to look towards the year ahead. The London-based ska band’s then current single ‘Shows How Little You Know’ provided a very effective peak into their proposed new long player, supplying the kind of energy driven number their fans had not only come to expect, but also a powerful workout that seemed perfect for attracting new listeners.