Vinny and The Hooligans’ 2016 EP ‘Late Nights’ was a reasonably enjoyable punk release that drew influence from the more accessible end of hardcore, Good Riddance and Screeching Weasel at their most tuneful. The recording was a little rough around the edges and Vinny’s vocal wasn’t necessarily the most perfect, but the charm in the songs often shone through. Two years on and with a bigger budget, ‘Don’t Give Up’ – a pointed message for so many DIY punk bands – is an improvement on almost every level. Stretching Vinny’s talents to a full release and a bigger sound, its ten songs cover a variety of punk styles, but whatever the outcome, it’s a record packed with big hooks and a lot of love for New York.
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Listen: Dancing Robots & Punk Rock Angels – A Real Gone Playlist for 2018
Previously at this point in December, it has become the custom for Real Gone to issue a free download containing some of the best underground tracks of the year. For the past seven or eight years, these downloads have been a popular fixture on the Real Gone calendar, turning people on to all kinds of artists.
With the changing times, we regret to say the era of the free sampler has come to an end. It seems that people much prefer streaming and with that in mind, we’ve made the decision to highlight some of our favourite tunes in an eighty minute playlist.
EVIL OWL – Evil Owl EP
Not to be confused with the independent progressive rock band from Finland, the UK Evil Owl are hard, retro and grubby. On their self-titled EP from 2018, this Bristolian trio take the garage rock base of Brockley Forest and load it with the kind of distortion and arty noise that fuelled the Sonic Youth classics ‘Sister’ and ‘Evol’ and throw in a few influences from Mudhoney and Tad for good measure. The result is a genuine blast of guitar driven anger – four songs with a retro heart but also loaded with a timeless, fuzzy appeal.
TUSKAR – The Tide, Beneath, The Wall EP
When a band gets billed as “nuclear sludge”, there’s a hint that their sound will be a teensy bit on the heavy side, but Miton Keynes duo Tuskar take the very notion of heavy and throw it out of the window.
THE STOOLS – Milk River Blues EP
Detroit three piece The Stools take the guts of garage rock and pull at them until some of the uglier elements of the genre are the dominant force. Despite its title and despite their location, you shouldn’t expect their 2018 cassette ‘Milk River Blues’ to be overly concerned with drawing from bluesy elements; nor should you approach them thinking that either the legacies of MC5 or The Stooges strongly apply. The Stools are slightly unhinged and are probably best approached with caution.