Quiz Show’s 2024 EP release ‘Flotsam’ often played like a musical love letter to the alternative rock boom of the 90s. Taking influences from Superchunk and the earliest, noisier works of Buffalo Tom, and occasionally applying a quietLOUDquiet approach to the arrangements – as per Pixies and Nirvana – it gave fans of the grunge era lots to enjoy in a small package. ‘XONO’ – shared in the Autumn of ’26 – finds the band, founded by Shudder To Think’s Chris Matthews, sticking to what they know. But that’s something they do very well indeed.
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OUI PLASTIQUE – Spirit / The Persuaders
In the summer of 2026, synth pop act Oui Plastique shared ‘Linger’, a single which straddled a cold mood and a melodic heart, making no secret of a love for early 80s Ultravox. As a preview of an upcoming album, it was hugely effective, presenting a very familiar sound in such a way that any obvious recycling – both from the band’s influences and their own past recordings – felt as if it could still be inspiring.
Real Gone Presents: A Boston Round-Up, September 2026
It’s been a couple of months since we visited Boston, but in that time there’s been a few very interesting things happening. Our ten song selection for September celebrates the best sounds from the city’s underground, bringing you not only the usual dose of garage rock, but even tracks by a couple of great singer songwriters and an alternative rock tune teetering on the fringes of melodic punk. As always, we hope you find something new to enjoy…
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DEARDARKHEAD – The Pendulum Swings
Deardarkhead whip up a superb sound on ‘Letting Go’. Building from a solid bassline, the number takes a mid tempo groove and layers that with a soaring guitar that shares a very lyrical sounding melody. The lead guitar tone is beautiful, bringing a pinch of very commercial goth to an already great sound. A key track on an instrumental album, the music here is so strong that a vocal really isn’t missed, despite Deardarkhead sharing something that would typically find space for a spacey, studio treated voice to bring an extra layer of atmosphere. In and out in a little over three minutes, this number relies on absolutely no padding, and as the last notes fade, you might feel a definite urge to hit the repeat button… This is an absolutely stunning track, and it turned out to be perfect way to advertise ‘The Pendulum Swings’ via a pre-release since, although the rest of the album is quite varied, it often resembles this track in a way that really doesn’t disappoint.
FROM UNDER CONCRETE KINGS – Impulse Tension EP
Back in those dismal days of the 2020 pandemic and everything going into lockdown, the world had no end of great music to provide in-home entertainment. One of that year’s more interesting metal releases came from From Under Concrete Kings (you have to wonder how many different combinations of words were considered to create that acronym), which mixed elements of hardcore and groove metal with the artiness of bands like Between The Buried & Me to share something that not only had a great energy, but was far less predictable than “the norm”.