Untitled Page

[sub]NOVA: "Fifth Season" (Promo)
RELEASED? Out now.
SOUNDS LIKE? Something falling between stools, but it ain't shit, oh no. We're talking check-shirted, muscle-bulging kind of Springsteen cures Linkin Park, in a fetchingly English kind of way.
IS IT ANY GOOD? Yeah, yeah, it is. Pithy, punchy and melodic, stadium sized anthems without histrionics, "Kerosene Girl" is our pick.
WHERE IS IT? www.subnova.co.uk

RAISED BY ANIMALS: "The Raised By Animals Revue" (Online)
RELEASED? Out now.
SOUNDS LIKE? For fucks sake, they come from Barnsley and while you're a loose n groovy person, you are, no offence, unlikely to believe that Raised By Animals sound like some superior soundtrack for some feelgood, affirmative movie about illegal Beatle immigrants being hidden by Billy Preston in some Detroit nightclub run by David Bowie. Believe, go on, why not? We have evidence, "Power To You" for a start, and "Old Flame" for a follow up.
IS IT ANY GOOD? Yes it is and it's good because it's a case of kids being inspired by and trying to build on their influences rather than mounting another tedious smash n grab.
WHERE IS IT? www.myspace.co.uk/raisedbyanimalsmusic

ARNDALES "Dog Hobbies" (Online)
RELEASED? 27th May
SOUNDS LIKE? To be honest, this sounds like The Stranglers throttling the
                                                                                                   entire barrel of Arctic
                                                                                                   Monkeys. Angular
                                                                                                   aggro, clanking, driving
                                                                                                   and battering in the
                                                                                                   bass range and a
                                                                                                   sparking sniper-fest
                                                                                                   in the treble. Words set
                                                                                                   to snide, sarcasm and
                                                                                                   sneer, they know how
                                                                                                   to make friends, or
                                                                                                   fiends.
                                                                                                   IS IT ANY GOOD? We
                                                                                                   love it and there is
                                                                                                   much to love, the
                                                                                                   sneaky, sleaze, rawk
                                                                                                   tease of "National Airline Meals" is making Ian Drury frot his coffin to destruction and "Dog Hobbyist" just punks out some long overdue anti-intellect rant on a pumped up Kinks riff that we can't track, but a hip type like yourself will be needing to finger this particular pulse, oh yes.
WHERE IS IT? www.myspace.com/arndales

DIFFERENT DAY: "Of A Nature" (Online)
RELEASED? Out now?
SOUNDS LIKE? I can't look, I can't listen, I know that these young people have hopes, dreams and ambitions. I also know that they have no fucking songs, no originality and no fucking chance, thank fuck.
IS IT ANY GOOD? Noooooooooo. No. Not even a bit.
WHERE IS IT? www.myspace.com/differentday

HER:ENEMY: "Bad Brain" (Promo)
RELEASED? 21st July
SOUNDS LIKE? The helpful press release says that Her:Enemy are trying to 'steer clear of a scene', before going on to note that people have 'likened them to Biffy Clyro and the Foo Fighters'. Don't worry, we'll have stopped giggling before Christmas.
IS IT ANY GOOD? Put it this way... when blokes are digging up the road you might see a 'men at work' sign, when this is playing you should see 'kids at play'.
WHERE IS IT? www.myspace.com/herenemy

GLORIA CYCLES: "Vegas" (Wendy Bike Records)
RELEASED? 30th June
SOUNDS LIKE? Mr Jangle has gathered the entire supply of jangle and lobbed it into the (nasty) Beatles mixer, dragged it around north London and then, rather wonderfully, lost the plot.
IS IT ANY GOOD? Just
a fucking bit, this is
crisp, killing, poppy
rawk and it's so bitty
that any eedjit, apart
from Gloria Cycles,
can hear that they've
kind of fucked up on
the getting a bit too
bitty on the old 'ram it
all in' vibe, but who
cares? Gloria Cycles
have a stupid band
name and a great sound. Go play with them.
WHERE IS IT? www.myspace.com/gloriacycles

BETWEEN THE SCREAMS "Embryo" (Promo)
RELEASED? 21st July
SOUNDS LIKE? Prog-rock with the standard, acid-gargling demon on vocals. It's probably just me, but being constantly shock-rocked has kind of cushioned the shock and after that...
IS IT ANY GOOD? Well, the demon tends to lose huge swathes of potential punters, but the harmless and very euro-rock alter-ego is worse.
WHERE IS IT? www.betweenthescreams.net

O "EP O2" (White Label)
RELEASED? Out now?
SOUNDS LIKE? Ooooh, I'm a sucker for backbeat and slightly phased sneering vox, but the offside screaming and drum rushes are making mush
of the remaining brain cells,
so let's ignore the
Woolworths toy guitar
weediness revealing the
norf London paucity of 'O'.
And while we do know that
"Comeback Home" is a
sharp, ping-a-ling of a very
obvious R.E.M rip off, we love
it to frigging bits and if O have management worth the name you will be loving them just as hard and real soon.
IS IT ANY GOOD? Just take the above as a 'yes'.
WHERE IS IT? www.oband.co.uk

RICHARD KAVANAGH "End Of Tape" (Unsigned)
RELEASED? Out now.
SOUNDS LIKE? Scarfo demo tracks. This means that we have singer-songwriter stuff crying out for the comfort, adaptation, adoption and abuse of a band situation.
IS IT ANY GOOD? Not yet, but the songs are in place and something like "Self Obsession Makes You Razor Blade Pretty" is wonderful thing in it's present state, and yet Pink Floyd, REM, or Richard Ashcroft might make a different kind of wonder with it.
WHERE IS IT? www.myspace/richardkavanagh

BILLY & THE FINGERS: "Lamb Camera" (White Label)
RELEASED? Out now.
SOUNDS LIKE? Well, they describe themselves as 'psychedelic punk country' which is more accurate for the grown up Billy Standish riffing a Ray

Davies slice of life on the tough lil bouncer "Just Like Smoke", but we're well into Emmylou Harris out drinking Tom Waits on "What A Girl" and "Dear Wendy" is something like Jamie T doing what Pete D thinks he's been doing, chopped-jangle blues angst.
IS IT ANY GOOD? Yeah, the way that the guitars pop away like fat firework sparks through the tail end of "Dear Wendy" is approaching special, and that's the least of it.
WHERE IS IT? www.myspace.com/billyandthefingers

DECEMBERS CHILDREN: "Purple Lace And Flowers" (Demo)
RELEASED? Out now.
SOUNDS LIKE? The legendary missing link that locks Marc Bolan firmly to Keith Richards as a pair of slouching thieves padding reverently through the bedrooms of the blues.
IS IT ANY GOOD? Yes. The material is worthwhile in it's own right, standing up well against it's honestly obvious influences. Besides, the filthy piano on "Dressed Like A Priest" will make a sinner out of any saint.
WHERE IS IT? www.myspace.com/decemberschildrenuk

SPIRAL DANCE: "Music Box" (Demo)
RELEASED? Out now.
SOUNDS LIKE? Hmmm, "Music Box" is one of those meatless, meandering, endless intro things and "The Healer" is worse. The standard hippy shit deployment of ghostly vocals, flute n tabla is tedious, unimaginative, dull and totally lifeless.
IS IT ANY GOOD? No. It's bad, it's very bad and you should listen to The Osmonds double album tribute to The Clash long before you waste breathing time on this.
WHERE IS IT? www.myspace.com/jimandthehippy

PEANUT ALBINOS: "To Be A Number" (Demo)
RELEASED? Out now.
SOUNDS LIKE? We exchanged digital with them and these Peanut Albinos have never heard of Dawn Of The Replicants or The Broken Family Band, but

clever people with unhealithy huge record collections know a winning combination of armour plated acoustic, mania and drawling, effortless, lyrical class.
IS IT ANY GOOD? Well, it works like this, you check the first verse of "Just Another Day", just so you know who to worship, then hang around for the chorus, just so you know who to be afraid of.
WHERE IS IT? www.myspace.com/peanutalbinos