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Sorry Roland Shanks, you've been around a while, maybe you were one of the first to do it, but if I hear another disco-beat-rumbling-bass-line-shouty-singer band, I'm going to scream very loudly. Maybe Roland Shanks have got more interesting songs, in fact the B-side even hints at that fact, and I know you're a bunch of down to earth guys, but don't just jump on the band wagon to try and get into the singles chart, or (possibly) to be more precise, don't let your label push you onto the band wagon.

Somewhere in the recent months of the live music explosion, Indie music seems to have separated into two camps, thoughtful, clever, rocking music and music to bounce around to. Larrikin Love fall squarely into the later category, the kids love them, bounding and shouting around like idiots to pretty much every song, the band can do no wrong with their odd Indie-Ska-Gipsy crossover. However hooks and structure seem hard to find in their songs, everything rumbles along in the same vein with no real clarity or memorable moments, great fun but not built to last.

The Scare look out of it tonight, perhaps they would be a tighter band if they weren't off their heads, but they wouldn't be the Scare if they were sober. A big, loud, sometimes wonderful mess of heavy rock, new wave and egotistical posturing, riffs that fly around like there's no tomorrow and a seething mass of sweaty bodies. This is pure rock and roll, it may not always be pretty, but who ever said it should be.

The Voices are not the sort of band I'd normally go for; I gather they call it Shoe-gazing, basically lots of noise, not much structure, just repeated, building patterns. However, there's something about The Voices that pulls me in, firstly I guess I'm impressed by the noise they make for a three piece, there's also something wonderfully calming and ethereal about the tracks on this album, they wash over you, enveloping your senses, and forcing you to just stop and listen. An excellent soothing antidote to the crazy and confused modern world.

Thanks to bands like The Editors and the Departure there seems to an ever increasing amount of bands making effects laden, sound-like-they're-playing-in-a-cave albums, full of big guitars and echoing vocals. So whilst At the Lake may not be particularly original they have a damn good go at the sound, with some excellent guitar riffs, great choruses and oodles of reverb of course!

Strange, the 4 tracks on this Camera sampler are a little MOR for my usual tastes, but I kind of like them, in a mellow, sitting back with a bottle of beer and gently sighing kind of way. Some nice harmonies and tunes trip away with nowhere special to go, along comes another song and so it goes. In their rockier moments, Camera start to get more interesting, bring on the rock boys!

Great album title! Televise really aren't my thing, but I get the feeling that if shoe-gazing music is your thing, then they'd be pretty ace, so I'm not going to write a review of them, and just tell you to take a listen... If you want to.

These are songs for summer, beautiful close melodies, upbeat harmonies and wonderful lyrical couplets. But the weather outside is confused, and so seemingly is the band, the sound is not brilliant, everyone looks constantly surprised and lost. However it comes across as charming, complimenting the music well and Jim Noir get away with it.

The ill informed might term Scully Ska, Lad Rock or some other such badge. Scully are the sound of frustration and displeasure with the arseholes and idiots that constantly ruin lives. They are the sound of celebrating the pleasures and excesses in life, and it all comes right in the end, usually in a big sing-a-long chorus. Scully are the sound of real life.

The predominant problem for me (especially being a southerner) with jangly guitar bands singing with Northern accents, is that they all start to sound very similar, It's an unfair comment especially in You and the Atom Bomb's case. The two tracks on this single sound like different bands, which in my opinion, is a good thing. Track one is a fast-paced blistering riff led rant about and celebration of bad landlords and cheap rentals, track two a more laid back, melancholic affair about boy watching... I think. Overall, interesting, I'd like to hear more!

The show of a skilled solo artist is the ability to fill a room with your sound and presence, and whilst The Social is a small venue, Findlay fills all corners of the room admirably. His melodies and harmonies are haunting but beautiful, filling you with an enormous sense of calm and stillness. At the end of his set he quietly finishes and disappears into the room, his unassuming manner unaware of his effect on the audience.<br><br><a href='https://www.findlaybrown.com' target='_blank'>www.findlaybrown.com</a>

The two tracks on Pink Grease's forthcoming offering has a wonderful tension throughout both tracks. The lyrics to Ordinary girl ooze with an impassioned plea, for what who don't know, but it's very effective! Hate has a similar feel, it's tension supplied by a confession of sorts, a claustrophobic outburst against the world or perhaps more personal. One thing's for sure, Pink Grease have thrown aside their lighter past for a new darker outlook on the world and a tighter sound to fulfil it, good luck to 'em.

Sorry, this is horrible, bloody disco beats all over the place for no real reason, stupid inane lyrics about taping a TV program and irritating Xylophone plastered over the top of some horrendously recorded tinny guitars. It's not a bad song, it has a catchy chorus, I'd just like to take the band, rearrange the song, strip it down and rerecord the whole thing to make the hooks audible and less grating.

Marissa Nadler is an artist hard to judge on just two tracks. Marissa has an incredible voice, the sort of voice that could, with the right oppputunities and a lot of luck become a classic voice. Her range and emotion are incredible, sucking you right in to the beautiful melodies and this is why two tracks are not enough, I don't want it to end yet, I want more.<br><br><a href='https://www.marissanadler.com' target='_blank'>www.marissanadler.com</a>

There's quite a lot of this shouty, shouty, fast guitars, pseudo-disco drums stuff about at the moment. All a bit manic, songs structures that never really have any choruses or middle eights, just 3 minutes of loudness, there's probably some sort of ridiculously named sub genre, but I don't know what it is. The Scare have a fair pop at it, the singer's voice is quite often more mental than most of his peers, at times descending into odd screeches and wails, but the problem is the lack of dynamics, every song is mad and fast, it becomes a little tiring after 4 songs, perhaps it's something to appreciate more live with a big sweaty crowd who are equally mental.

I always try very very hard not to reference other bands in reviews, but there is one so blindingly obvious reference point in V//Formations' sound that I have to use it. The Pixies, I'm not even sure that this will mean anything to the band, but there's the same caterwauling vocals, the same rolling bass lines and the same discordant guitars. However V//Formation are like the aforementioned band in (what I imagine they sounded like) their early days, darker, rougher, full of more spit and venom. There's a way to go, the songs don't tend to stick in my mind, but there's something hear to worth listening out for.

Who's a Terrorist now? is one of the best tracks I heard this year, raucous, scathing, and teeming with aggression and hard-edged passion, everything a track should have in my opinion. The B-Side In Good Time isn't quite as raucous, and some of the lyrics are a little cheesy and cliched, but it's still an excellent track with an awesome guitar line and a glorious sing-a-long chorus. Definately a band to watch for, they will be big.

Balls is the BFB's third release, and usually by the third album bands are starting to mellow, The BFB seem to be going completely in reverse getting rockier as they release more, not that their going to be donning Leathers and playing the Download festival any time soon. Balls is more direct than previous releases, the tracks are shorter, they kick in quicker and are more danceable. However fear not, the same Alt-country roots are still there, the same Jet black dark and arrogant lyrics still spit and curse their way through the album and the same brilliantly crafted song writing still oozes from the songs. I've been a fan of BFB for sometime now, but I've always been of the opinion that their live show is consistently so much better than their recorded output, and whilst Balls is a competent release, this still remains the case.

I'm not sure quite why I like this, the lyrics are very repetitive, in fact even the same lyrics repeated over and over again, but it's simple and catchy, it sticks in your head in a nice mellow if slightly eccentric kind of way. What more could you want from a song?

Sol Seppy holds the stage like an entranced group of Children intrigued and delighted by their toys, their playmates and the noises they are making. The predominant lack of percussion in the intertwining melodies produces a cathartic dream like feeling, the crowed are invited and captivated, drawn into the bands' private world for half an hour, sharing the beautiful soundscapes produced. The band finish, the crowd cries for more, but we're back in the real world now and the night must carry on.

This is The Playwrights first proper release, plagued by bad luck and misfortune, it's been a long time coming and the sense of dissatisfaction and listlessness is evident. Songs like Why We've become invisible, Fear of open spaces, Dislocated and Where the stress falls are full of lyrics brimming with frustration of provincial and everyday living, the draw and darkness of big towns. The music is incredibly frantic, complementing the lyrics perfectly, the drums rattle about, somehow holding it all together despite never really settling into any constant beats, the bass pulsates and rumbles just as manically with the two guitarists crashing about, seemingly doing their own thing, producing wonderfully discordant melodies and rhythms that are chaotic, but work. It?ƒÙs taken a while for them to get here, but this album is testament to the fact that it was well worth the effort.

The hoodie wearing kids are dancing and shouting, arms in the air as their self appointed spokesman for the night simultaneously castrates and celebrates the US pop and sub-pop cultures they embrace. The hecklers at the back are drowned out by his tight and hard rocking band and his witty hip-hop rhymes, we leave with a smile on our faces and sweat on our backs. In the words of the man himself, That's Fresh!

Awwblot (for short) are an extremely competent and confident 5 piece from Worcester, who take the increasingly popular dual boy/girl vocals trick and fortunately aren't irritating. This 4 track EP has its ups and downs, the lead track, Dance, Damn you, dance is an anthem in the making showing off all the bands lyrical and musical talent in one convenient package. The problem with an outstanding track on a CD is that it makes the others, whilst perfectly fine in their own right, not seem so strong. Awwblot are a potential future hit band in the making, grab a copy of their early CD's before Paul Epworth gets his mitts on them and makes them all bloody disco.

I can't quite figure out if Betty Curse is the next (Glam Metal) Avril Lavigne or if she's doing this seriously, and with collaborations from 80's Matchbox B-Line Disaster and Little Hell I'm still not sure. Either way the album promises to be a great head banger of an album, loud powerful guitars, and lyrics about blood, relationships, being young and religion. All the Goth Kids in Camden Town now have a new figure head, I foresee a London Astoria all ages show within 6 months and Charing Cross road full of sweaty 14 year olds resplendent in black being picked up by their parents in four wheel drives by 11 pm. Seriously though this album is great, sickly slick, but masses of fun.<br><br><a href='https://www.bettycurse.co.uk' target='_blank'>www.bettycurse.co.uk</a>

She's had a strange life, and as would be expected has produced a strange album. Having worked with artists from diverse musical backgrounds from Country to Hip Hop and classical composers and a long term recovery from Illness has helped produce a dark and twisted but equally beautiful album. Sandy's voice is one of the strangest I've ever heard, it is almost childlike, the only comparison I can draw is to the female psychic investigator in Poltergeist(!), high pitched, but gravely and full of emotion. Some songs on Pull The Strings are a little self indulgent, but overall an incredible album for those up for something more challenging.

Whilst I raved about The Bishops for some time, I've always written them off as being fairly light hearted and their lyrics straightforward. After listening to their forthcoming single my opinion has changed, their lyrics may be simple but are extremely dark, it's a very misleading combination of upbeat music and downbeat lyrics. The Bishops sound and style is unmistakably 60's influenced, but with a very modern twist, I'm not entirely sure what that twist is, but it makes the sound theirs, the songs are short, to the point and pure slices of Pop.

The Boyfriends have never been know as the cheeriest of bands, and with their newly confirmed Morrissey support, they're not putting and end to that reputation. Adult Acne is in a similar vein to previous material, Martin Wallace's vocals floating above a wall of sometimes jangling, sometime crashing guitars, a slightly funkier than normal bass line and fairly unobtrusive drums. I couldn't quite catch all the lyrics, but I gather the songs probably about being ignored and overlooked, a good old slab of British gloom for spring.

The Angular Recording corporation built it's reputation on doing what it felt like doing, and putting out bands who had a similar attitude, so it's a shame that this single from The Lodger is a little generic. The a-side is pleasant enough, a catchy tune and quite danceable, the b-side, sweet with some nice harmonies, but it doesn't grab me. Though admittedly the more I listen to the single, the more I like it, a grower.

I have a rule, I always give bands 3 songs before I decide whether to stay or not, I have been to a lot of the gigs, and this was the first time I have ever walked out before the 3 song limit. I didn't get it, was I missing something? The band took ages to set up, then sounded like a 6th form Punk band learning to play with each other. As I left I heard people asking for their money back and others telling them 'Oh, give him (Dan Treacy) a chance, he's had a hard time… That may be true, but if you're going to be so bad, don't charge punters upwards of £6 for the privilege, and even the rest of the band were out of time with each other, no one looked like they knew what was going on, it was painful, embarrassing and uncomfortable.

'Hustle' Describes Jeff's voice very accurately, it gently ambles about, not looking like it's up to much, but generally seedy, occasionally sneaking up on you and taking you by surprise. The music fluctuates somewhere between laid back acoustic strumming to mellow soundscapes and even venturing into cool electronica at times, in another twist of synchronicity the album artwork of paisley patterns, cigarettes and out of focus women sums up the whole sound well, appealing, but leaves you feeling a little dirty.