In the middle of the 2020 pandemic, The Walk Offs released ‘Sorry For Nothing’, a lovably ragged EP that fused a bunch of blue collar rock influences with a love of the rough and ready style of The Replacements. It never pretended to be original, but between a few good songs and a lot of DIY spirit, it more than held its own in the entertainment stakes.
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DMITRY WILD – Rock N Roll Is My Business / Son Of A Gun
Dmitry Wild’s 2022 long player ‘New York Stories’ was a record brimming with good tunes. The multi-talented musician filled its metaphorical grooves with a variety of sounds ranging from Strokes inspired garage rock (‘Summer of ’21’, ‘Sweetest Thing’), echoey semi-acoustic rock that sounded like ‘Space Oddity’ era Bowie fused with Tindersticks (‘Wizard’), moody singer songwriter fare with a gentle Nick Cave-ish undercurrent (‘God, Ghost and A Ship’), and even arty rock meeting with a slacker vibe (‘21st Century’). It showed a man capable of turning his hand various styles with relative ease.
NIGHTFREAK – Speed Trials EP
Nightfreak are a band who, in their own words, play “feral punk ‘n’ roll”. Bands sometimes have a skewed idea of how they sound, or of the intents and complexities of the music they play, but in this case, these three lads from Chicago are under no illusions. Their second release ‘Speed Trials’ fills a brutal ten and a half minutes with unrelenting material that pulls the best from Black Flag and Germs and marries that hardcore intensity to rock ‘n’ roll riffs that sound like bits of Rocket From The Crypt and New Bomb Turks colliding with Keith Morris performing with a genuine anger.
THE REAL GONE SINGLES BAR #29
Welcome back to the Real Gone Singles Bar, the place where we explore the various individual tracks and mp3s that have landed in our inbox over the previous few weeks. This time around, the popular feature includes a couple of pieces of very strong pop with an electronica heart, a great melodic rocker with a blue collar tint, a tune with one of the catchiest hooks ever, a well arranged cover…and more besides. We hope you dive in, explore and enjoy – and, as always, please tell us if we’ve introduced you to something great!
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MARC VALENTINE – Skeleton Key / Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow?
Marc Valentine’s ‘Futura Obscura’ album, released during the death throes of 2022, tapped into a whole world of old fashioned power pop sounds. Its wall of guitars drew heavily from a world of early 80s heroes, but also from early Weezer, and Valentine’s hooky approach to songwriting ensured that a selection of huge choruses sounded great, whatever the era and however much his core sound relied on a throwback quality. His 2023 single ‘Jinx of Finchley Road’ went a step further in the infectious stakes by adding a world of tinkly keys to a marching beat, instantly shifting his retro pop from Weezer-world into a place where the ghosts of Jellyfish loomed with a largeness that was impossible to ignore. If Valentine hadn’t previously been on the list of power pop performers to look out for, this was a single that would certainly get him more of the attention he deserved.