Near the beginning of 2024, US post punk band Sun Atoms broke a near three year silence when they released the single ‘Ceiling Tiles’. That track provided the perfect reminder of their great sound with its angular riffs, pulsing rhythms and light gothic tones. In a little over five minutes, the music transported the listener back to the early 90s with its alternative feel, but Sun Atoms’ music still played very well in the present.
Tag Archives: space rock
TRAUM – Traum
Bringing together members of Fuzz Orchestra, Zeus, Lento and Zu, German band Traum aren’t light on musical talents. On their debut album, the collective explore a broad soundscape of space rock, desert rock and stoner to create a heavily atmospheric work. Perhaps most impressively, unlike some of their peers, they don’t feel it is always necessary for their musical explorations to stretch out into hugely lengthy jams. There are longer works shared, but the bulk of ‘Traum’ shares shorter, accessible pieces, and in doing so, really helps to create a user friendly record from a sometimes less than user friendly style.
THE REAL GONE SINGLES BAR #37
Welcome back to the Real Gone Singles Bar, the place where we explore the various individual mp3s that have landed in our inbox over the previous few weeks. With January at an end and with 2024 having now gained momentum, the submissions are rolling in very fast. This week, picking favourites was almost a thankless task. People have sent so much good stuff our way after returning to work following the Xmas break! This time out, we bring you a couple of singer songwriters, some brilliant light sounding and alternative pop, a strong guitar instrumental, a slab of retro space rock and more besides! We hope you find something to enjoy…
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AAWKS – Luna EP
When it comes to riffs, power trio Aawks really don’t mess about. A cut above your average stoner rock band, their debut album ‘(Heavy On The Cosmic)’ did exactly what it said on the tin. Its eight tracks fused Sabbath, Kyuss and classic Monster Magnet riffs with a whole world of phased effects – applied to both the guitars and vocals – to leave the listener with the ultimate in fuzzy, buzzy, mind-bending wonderment. On tunes like ‘The Woods’ which combined driving stoner riffs with slower breakdowns and heavily treated lead guitars, and ‘All Is Fine’ which latched onto a rhythm that sounded like a distant cousin of ‘Silver Machine’, it was even possible to hear a huge influence from early Hawkwind bleeding through the slightly echoey vocals and head nodding riffs. With a touch of doom fleshing out ‘Peeling Away’, it was clear that these guys could do incredible heaviness too. Since almost every moment brought something exciting to Aawks’ chosen style, ‘(Heavy On The Cosmic)’ was potentially one of the finest heavy psych discs since Monster Magnet foisted ‘Dopes To Infinity’ upon an unsuspecting world in the mid 90s.
SUPPLEMENTAL PILLS – No Easy Way Out
On their second full length release, Supplemental Pills serve up some interesting music that’s at times minimalist, and at times noisy, but absolutely unafraid to hop between styles. Sometimes the material doesn’t even care for much of a tune, but it works. It’s also strangely hypnotic.