The Presets - I Go Hard, I Go Home
This should come packaged with a massive warning. Just as I’ve settled down into a quiet routine, sensible-like…along come The Presets with an absolutely uncontrollable bit of electro-swaggery that refuses to let go of your arms, legs, and brain cells. Bongos! Alarms! Panic! All with shattered vocals, like terror ripped from throats on the waltzers, vocal cords yellishly taught, screeches loosed like leaps over no entry signs. The Presets mean business. This is a huge great fractured, ear purring, roaring, vibrating dance-o-rama of a track. They play cat and mouse in their own inimitable style as incredible beats spin over serious warning calls that make you want to get the fuck out of there, but when the heavy bass drops back you realise you’re sealed in. Thanks for ruining my weekends all over again you dirty but delicious Presets stop-outs.

Review by Lindsey Kent
www.thepresets.com

Fury of the Headteachers - Farewell Comrade
I'll be blunt. This is good. This is very good. Fury of The Headteachers
have delivered with their second single on Grace Records.

'Farewell Comrade' begins with stomping drums and a guitar riff that is
purely irresistible. The song doesn't glide along yet stutters, stops and
starts with a very catchy chorus. The band (especially the singer, whose
voice has an uncanny resemblance in the verses) are reminiscent of a much
angrier Maccabees. The tune is there, but also is an underlying sense of
chaos within. This is emphasised after the last chorus when bedlam ensues
with a cacophony of noise that suitably ends the song abruptly.

'Stumped' starts brightly with a Testicicles-esque riff, but doesn't provide half the excitement that 'Farewell Comrade' gives us. 'Farewell Comrade' is such an exciting two minutes and fifty-nine seconds, it requires a few listens to consume every element of the song. However, once your head is around the brilliantly spiky guitars and delightfully maddening finale, you'll find Fury Of The Headteachers a band very difficult not to be excited about.

Review by Joe Amos
www.myspace.com/furyoftheheadteachers

Beth Orton - Heart of Soul
Beth Orton’s voice is a constant surprise, the grit and the airiness of it formed by the physical shapes her emotions make. Her portrait on the cover of this release has been taken so her face is obscured by a glittering mass of blonde hair, and I wonder if the various ‘voices’ employed on this track also hide more than they reveal. There is great beauty expressed lyrically, as she chimes in high pitched awe that “you can watercolour a firecracker”, wails in frustration that “you pick a flower and it’s dead” and encourages us roughly, seductively to “put a little love” in our hearts. Her themes seem to be love, soul, naivety, experience, fear, hope, but perhaps uncertainty, as this track leaves that salty taint that comes with being unsure, or is perhaps a celebration of it, as Orton

questions the rules of things and the intrinsic beauty and unfairness of contradiction. Musically, the complexity of the track is belied by the gorgeous arrangement, the strings appearing without intrusion, the acoustic guitar and piano both entering and leaving amiably. There is also a fearlessness in breaking things down, in pulling back to reveal that voice, that constant which is anything but constant in its ability to at once be obstructed, lounging and deep and then, like an air thermal, tearing free and rushing upwards: Orton’s chin high like a raised cup, to let the bright words pour loose.

Review by Lindsey Kent
www.bethorton.mu

Education - Cool As You / Charles
From Leeds come this four-piece with their debut single 'Cool as You' - a witty and infectious sing-along-able song that displays a definite degree of talent. The song has a rushed feeling throughout with quick pace and energetic guitar. The verses pinch elements of Maximo Park (especially the vocal style) and give us an exciting start to what is essentially a typical 'rock song'. However, the chorus doesn't take advantage of what the verse has displayed and reverts into a gritty northern pop-punk style. Yes, it works and fits, but the song could be so much more. As a result of this 'Cool as You' seems to be stuck in the middle of what the band want to be although the bridge contains a mishmash of voices which works well and reminds one of early Britpop Blur.

No doubt, 'Cool as You' is a good song, but it could be better. Much better.

'Charles', in comparison, is far superior. It glides with a swagger and, again, witty lyrics. The chorus is instantly memorable with a fine tune to it and vocal harmonies that make the song what it is. It also gives us something the former song doesn't - a feeling of knowing what the band want to be.

Whereas 'Cool as You', though a good song, was an erratic fusion of different influences and genres, 'Charles' pegs them down as a class indie band that should be heard. The single as a whole is an interesting affair that will interest many due to it's 'listen-ability' and can be considered a success that should
lead onto further exposure in the North as well as some coverage 'down South'.

Review by Joe Amos
www.areyoueducated.com

Templo Diez - Winterset
This is a pop, post- rock and bleak-country mixed bag of both ear soothing and ear shattering music. Opener “Sparkle” is an album highlight with its unmistakeable aura of darkness, mourning and high-strung heartache. Here, ‘sparkle’ refers to that last glimmer as a fading ray of light pierces the gloom and leaves traces on your eyelids. It’s a blade glint, a flash of sun death over malignant water, cold intent in your loved one’s eyes. Other tracks are also soundscaping ear fillers, expanded by effects laden guitar fuzz and electro (sometimes whale-like) sounds, and baselined by the quiet- seeming but forceful vocals of both Pascal Hallibert and Gloribel Hernàndez. Hernandez reveals her real vocal power in mid album track “Sal”. She sings in Spanish

and her philosophically tinged lyrics are revealed as she breathes and releases all the salt words she maintains are dissolving into the sea. Alarmed siren strings, chiming percussion, scattered whispering voices and country slide guitar sweep together to form beautifully discordant and crashing cacophonies, which reveal a perfect sense that is central to the chaos. The soothing interludes between album sections are a gorgeous way to de-stress in an almost Twin Peaks-esque virtual and aural environment, filled with chirping TV voices and coiled, lounging guitar and bass. Templo Diez are a band that let you lie in a beautiful, musical wash after being drawn over scuffing breakers and out into the swell.

Review by Lindsey Kent
www.templodiez.com

The Aliens - The Happy Song
Ex Beta Band members return with this bouncy uptempo singalong to infect your mind with good vibrations. Silly and irreverent as always, on this track John Maclean pounds away at the piano relentlessly, in that Jools Holland Boogie kinda way, whilst Gordon Anderson A.K.A. Lone Pidgeon tells us how happy he is, over and over again. The middle section is reminiscent of Primal Scream's straight rock n' roll with harmonies from the Beach Boys and there's Hank Marvin in the studio on lead guitar. Out here in the listening booth i'm shaking my moptop like Ringo Starr and bashing my air drums and cymbols like a madman.

It is definately a lot more catchy than the previous Alienoid Starmonica E.P. with the Hawkwind meets Can in the Orkneys sparseness of "Ionas" and the Blur go busking vibes of "only waiting". And the B-side is a seriously demented acid trip worthy of any classic Krautrock LP.

I think we will all be waiting a very long time before these guys can better the Beta Band and their 3e.p.s, but this release will hopefully give us an insight into what could be a brilliant and eclectic album mixing space rock, funk and good old fashioned pop harmonies.

I believe in Aliens. Do you?

Review by Andy Jesse
thealiens.musicblog.co.uk

Imogen Heap - Headlock
It's always nice to hear something contrasting from my normal play list. It gives me gratification to know that I'm experiencing the 'new'. Not that Imogen Heap is anything of the type. Experienced and well travelled she gives us the third single from recent album 'Speak for Yourself'. She retains her talent for creating beautiful songs and delivers them with a startling delicacy. Her electronic influence comes in soon enough after the gentleness of the beginning and give the song real depth and, also, emotional stature. Heap manages to mix the tranquil with the thrilling and 'Headlock' is an example of how songs should be written and presented. Imogen Heap is an exquisite talent.

And the remix isn't bad either.

Review by Joe Amos
www.imogenheap.co.uk

Darkel - At the End of the Sky
JB Dunkel may have left AIR the band behind, but this new record is suffused with that unique combination of oxygen and nitrogen so often associated with mousse, or soufflé, or fine puff pastry. “At The End Of The Sky” is a whimsical journey in which JB slides down rainbows, and flies along rays of light, only to be ultimately trapped in a silvery spider’s web. It is a layered piece of harmonic lightness, iced with a large spoonful of trippy-ness and flecked with meowing guitars and zinging space whistles. J’aime the sweetness of the French accent as JB sings “Oh Darliiing” and I really enjoy mishearing “origins” as the “oranges of time” but this remains nothing more than a briefly uplifting little confection of a song.

Review by Lindsey Kent
www.darkel.info

Ping Pong Bitches - Roc Ya Body
Prior to this offering, the 'Bitches' had been guests on 'Girls' from The
Prodigy's album 'Always Outnumbered, Never Outgunned'. Thanks to this
appearance, the 'bitches' (going by the names Emily Hell & Louise Prey)
decided to get a band together and start recording. The end product: Roc Ya
Body, almost four minutes of almost bearable synth sex pop. I'll admit there
is a certain charm to the seductive bass and undeniably filthy vocals. Yet
there are three flaws with 'Roc Ya Body'. Firstly, the use of a telephone
dial at the start annoys me instantly. Is there a need? No. Secondly, being
honest, this is pop at it's most simple and least aroused. And finally, 'Roc
Ya Body' contains a dire guitar part. I wouldn't say stay away, but approach
with caution.

Their other offering however, 'Gatecrasher', presents a lot more promise. Peaches meets Fischerspooner in three and a half minutes of electronica genius. It's bass distortion underneath a synth line fails to disappoint no matter how many times you listen to it. It so strikingly contrasts to 'Roc Ya Body' that it begs the question of what Ping Pong Bitches see themselves as. If they desire to be the synth pop rubbish that was explicitly evident in 'Roc Ya Body' then they'll be a waste of what 'Gatecrasher' gives us: exciting and sexy electro that deserves to be heard.

Review by Joe Amos
www.pingpongbitches.com

Jeremy Warmsley - I Believe In the Way You Move
I imagine Jeremy Warmsley as a sort of fly sized superhero for modern times, focused on the small things, but always being whisked along with the air currents of high drama present in the everyday. This is a theatrical but cute toy piano and handclapped spiked slice of such a drama that seems to begin in a train station. (I’m taking the announcement style noises in the opening fragments as a clue but this might be a step too far). The jigsaw piece nature of the music is puzzling but in a pleasant way, and the descent into brass noise is charmingly frequent. Challenges to the established order of things are

thrown in often, particularly when there is a startling and quite brilliant curtailment of any more trumpeting histrionics towards the end of the track. Admittedly, not all of Jeremy’s vocal adventures are easy to stomach. His brilliant roar of “what does it matter how I treat you” is easily rubbed out by the awful final lowing of the chorus: “moo-oo-oo-oo-ve”. Emmy The Great’s sweet contribution just tips the balance in his favour, however. Whilst the b-sides have a very silly feel to them, “I Believe In The Way You Move” is a nice bite-size taster for what should be, at the very least, an interesting album.

Review by Lindsey kent
www.jeremywarmsley.com

The Reverse - A Clean Incision
The reverse play their instruments competently enough but I can't help but think that every town in England has a live music bar where bands like this play their hearts out for girlfriends and mums who clap politely because their boy is doing something that they don't really understand.

The first track is full of jangly guitar and sad vocals that are meant for crying into your beer to. the second picks up the pace a little and is actually quite pleasant on the ear but doesn't really do anything or go anywhere. By the time we get to third track "Don't take my love away" we are in that special place that

drinking alone get us to when watching live music. That sad feeling that makes you long to be in a happier and livelier place, laughing with friends that didn't turn up.

The gentle tinkling of clean guitars takes over for the last track and the interplay between the two string pickers is quite intricate and weaves a dreamy blanket of melancholy over the listener. I think i'm ready to cry now.
The Reverse are not the kind of band I would choose to listen to at home but in the right setting I think they could prove me wrong. Not a Friday night dance band and too many sad breakup songs to take your girlfriend to. There are plenty of other songs available for download on their website, most of which are better than the ones here.

Try before you buy.

Review by Andy Jesse
www.thereverse.com