Category: Singles Round Up

Singles Round Up 2025 – February – Part 5

April 24, 2025 By neilho27@sky.com

If it was down to me, I’d listen to and write about music 24/7, but unfortunately, that doesn’t pay the bills, it only adds to them! So work has to take priority which doesn’t help when you have to burn the candle at both ends just to stand still…

Anyway if I don’t change the way I do these singles round ups it’ll be July before I’m done with February.

So here goes…

All the way from Brazil, Signo 13 served up another slice of moody gothic post punk with Onironautus while The Faint revival continued apace with an unreleased single, Brokers, Priests and Analysts, from their reissue of Blank-Wave Arcade.… Read the rest

Singles Round Up 2025 – February – Part 1

March 27, 2025 By neilho27@sky.com

Dead Pioneers – Post American

Another incendiary single from the new album from Dead Pioneers, in the form of its title track. Post American is huge attitude fuelled attack on white nationalism and a swipe at “giant toddlers with demands” and the country “built on genocide” and “slave labour”, in a year which beggars belief where one of the first acts the orange one took was to take rights away from just about everyone who isn’t a white cis male. Powerful stuff.

Dead Pioneers

benefits- Divide

Closer to home benefits have plenty to say too, with another attack on nationalism and “patriots” and the divide that continues to grow within British society.… Read the rest

Singles Round Up 2025 – January – Part 8

March 2, 2025 By neilho27@sky.com

The bumper final part of the January singles round up… including a link to the playlist for all January’s singles.

Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs – Stitches

As another taster for their forthcoming album Death Hilarious following up last years Detroit, the Black Sabbath-esque pulsating doom metal throb of Stitches is a tempting aural amuse-bouche, whetting the appetite for what auricular delights the album will serve up.

Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs

Ian Donaldson – Just Another Rock n Roll Song

January’s offering from the ex H2O frontman comes from his latest album, Dreams From Tenement Land, Just Another Rock n Roll Song once again focuses on a subject familiar to his solo work, with Donaldson in reflective mood once more, this joyous celebration of life and music, looking back on his love for Glam Rock, glamming away his Saturday nights, the impact and influences on him in his youth forming the basis for his career in music.… Read the rest

Singles Round Up 2025 – January – Part 7

February 22, 2025 By neilho27@sky.com

Vampire Slumber Party – Polka King Of the Midwest

Part seven begins with a joyous blast of full throttle pop punk in the form of this boisterous three minute anthem from London based Vampire Slumber Party, it’s like the early noughties all over again.

Vampire Slumber Party

Gypsy Pistoleros – Whatever Happened to the Old Town

Another earnest glam punk rocker from the greasepaint daubed Gypsy Pistoleros, the lyrics initially yearning for time gone by, before the mid song tempo rise tells a different story “I ran away from the old town” sings Gypsy Lee Postolero, before the song closes out in more meditative mood as he ruminates about “home”.… Read the rest

Singles Round Up 2025 – January – Part 6

February 19, 2025 By neilho27@sky.com

Swervedriver – Volume Control

The last part of the round up finished with Miki Berenyi, one of the most recognisable vocalist/guitarists of the 1990s indie scene fronting Lush. The part starts with one of the prime movers in the shoegaze scene of the era, blasting into the scene with mighty juggernauts of sound like Son of Mustang Ford. The band now have 6 albums under their belts and in January released this track from a new EP coming in March.

Swervedriver

Ditz – Four

Four is one of the highlights of the bands new album, Never Exhale, the follow up to the potent debut, The Great Regression.… Read the rest

Singles Round Up 2025 – January – Pt 4

February 3, 2025 By neilho27@sky.com

Skinner – Calling in Sick

The intro and underlying vibe to Calling in Sick has a distinct Young Fathers groove to it, add to that the frenetic discombobulating and nervous energy that Skinner brings to the track and you have a winning formula that creates an uneasy but highly engaging listen taking the subjects of work and mental health as its template.

Skinner

Shimmer ‘94 – I Heard You Say

A post-punk/indie anthem of epic proportions, an unassuming intro demanding to unveil a mellifluous cacophony of layered instruments with a vocal and refrain that takes me back to the days of the much missed Dead Hope.… Read the rest

The Best of ‘24

February 2, 2025 By neilho27@sky.com

Life has kind of caught up on me this year and I’ve pretty much missed the boat for “Best of 2024” lists, so this is probably a much abridged version than published in previous years.

2024 was another phenomenal year for music with a myriad of new albums and EPs from bands old and new, a cornucopia of singles (725 in total across the years singles round up playlists (links below)) and a plethora of brilliant live experiences.

For anything not mentioned here, just take a trip through last year’s blogs and you’ll find many other joys to treat your eardrums and warm your souls.… Read the rest

Singles Round Up 2025 – January – Pt 3

January 31, 2025 By neilho27@sky.com

A mix of the old and new on part three with established acts such as Gareth Sager rubbing shoulder with the new breed in the shape of Vanderlye and others.

The Yets – Enemy

The duo from South Carolina open up part three of January’s round up with this dreamily ethereal alt rock song. The Enemy channels elements of Medicine and their ilk and wouldn’t have sounded out of place on the soundtrack for the original Crow movie.

The Yets

Vanderlye – Romantic Anarchy

A close second to Tanzana for single of the month is this slice of heaven from another of my hopes for greater things, Vanderlye.… Read the rest

Singles Round Up 2025 – January – Part 2

January 27, 2025 By neilho27@sky.com

Six more of the best music January had to offer with the exceptional debut from Tanzana, an anti-Trump anthem from Smoking Pope’s, Amy adding an extra layer of brilliance to Bob Vylan, another anthem from singles round up stalwarts pMad, Glasgow post rock legends Mogwai and hypnotic trip rock from Heartworms.

pMad – Feed

pMad are more or less a permanent feature in the singles round up, releasing a steady stream of consistently top quality gothic tinged dark post punk singles over the last few years. Feed is no exception, with an anti-capitalist sentiment st its core, “the life of a value is more important than the value of a life”.… Read the rest

Singles Round Up – 2025 – January – Part 1

January 26, 2025 By neilho27@sky.com

2025 has got off to a bang with some singles that I imagine I’ll still be loving in 12 months as we reach the end of the year. As usual there is an eclectic mixes of styles representing in this cross section of what January had to offer, this is Part 1, I’ll include a link to a playlist of ALL of January’s featured singles when I get to the last part…

Voitures – Doesn’t Know It Yet

A great start to the year from Glasgow’s Voitures with buzzsaw guitars aplenty on this addictive slice of psych rock that channels elements of The Beatles and Mansun on the hypnotic Doesn’t Know It Yet.… Read the rest