singles
may
the suffrajets - sold
another offshoot from the world of pete doherty. this time its gemma clarke's turn. she is now part of a hard gigging garage rock and roll band - only things aren't as straight forward as that - as the press release actually advises that the suffrajetts have been around a while but have, so far, been beset with bad luck and nasty bus accidents. hopefully all that is behind them now as this is back to basics guitars and bass noise. of course, the track recalls all the usual garage entry points with extra hints of the tension and aggression of grunge. not bad, and the wah wah break at 2 mins is very smile inducing - something i never got from anything i heard by the gemma's previous band, good on her..
available from the usual download net places.
herbaliser - generals
full review : here
chok rock - big city loser
full review : here
kaiser chiefs - every day i love you less and less
i don't need to tell you what this like really do i? switch on radio one or radio two, and within half an hour you will be exposed to this happy up-tempo nu-britpop revivalism. the kaisers himage to all things blur and shed seven sits well alongside recent razorlight hits and will make a lot of people happy for a few weeks. fun fun fun, and there is nothing wrong with that - other than a little overexposure ..
the lodger - many thanks for your honest opinion
if this band had an ex-libertine in them or was being released on a cool london label, the nme would be all over this fine little indie 7" - instead i suspect that the record will be released by new leeds label 'dance to the radio' so hopefully a few lucky people will pick this limited release up and fall in love with it. holding the innocent songs close to their hearts and wondering why on earth something as excellent as this goes unnoticed thus proving to on and all the unfairness of the music industry. lead track comprises of buzzcock styled guitars (or is it fellow city dwellers the wedding present ?) and the typical 'oh woe is me' lyrical content, jumping along at a fine pace before dropping into the quality chorus - wonderful. 'unsatisfied' adds more sonic depth with synths fleshing out the sounds, but thankfully the sweetness avoids the usual syrupy mush that this type of genre can produce. the single then finalised with the acoustically stripped down 'lets make a pact' coming on like lost gem from the c86 era.
lovely lovely.
temposhark - invisible ink/little white lie
full review : here
milburn - lipstick lickin'/cheshire cat smile
fine debut from these Sheffield based young whippersnappers, with their updated brand of pub rock revival fun. both songs are short sharp and very catchy riffed up excellence. with the a-side coming on like a classic 1979 dr feelgood bluesy rock while trading licks with obvious nods towards the sloganeering of the clash. hits the spot in fine form. while 'cheshire cat smile' is all classic guitar lead brit-pop happy vibes. could definitely be one to watch.
stoney - soap in a bathtub
mark stoney aka stoney, is one of these new bods that does everything on his records - all bar playing drums. this doesn't however, in this case mean that these are lo-fi productions. oh no. instead stoney dips his studio toys into the excess of 70's pop music, layered vocals, delicately fuzzed up guitars, rich ambience and sci-fi synths, even an accordion makes an appearance, all blend to make a song that teases and taunts the listener into the usual game of 'spot the reference' points to extreme levels (peter gabriel, 10cc), but by the end of the lead track i decided i couldn't be bothered anymore - and decided to just really enjoy this slice of pomp rock-n-pop. very interesting stuff. elsewhere 'bring your cup' adds a welcome level of guitar twang and swamp funk, and 'where you are' is stoney's lighter-in-the-air crowd pleasing number all sweet acoustic guitars and loveliness.