Equally impressive is b-side 'Fibre Provider', which revolves once again around the bass of Kelson Mathias - though this time it's a clipped, almost funky riff, building a for Falkous' bemusing utterences to scale (if anyone would care to enlighten me as to what a 'white hovis wigwam' is, and what on earth it's doing in this song, please get in touch via the usual address).

A tour de force then from one of our generation's most distinctive voices, and if their electrifyingly ascerbic live show is anything to go by, there's plenty more where this came from.

Review by Paul Madden
www.myspace.com/futureoftheleft

The Shins - Phantom Limb
The Shins are back, and they're still lovely, though in a slightly different way. They are still purveyors of the finest jangly indie-pop but there is now a hint of eighties slickness. 'Phantom Limb' ticks all The Shins' boxes: melodic, soothing and bound to put a smile on your face. There's only a hint of progression from their previous efforts but at worst this is a particularly good example of classic Shins. It's no coincidences that since I've been playing the single my flatmates have been asking who this band are, rather than to grumpily ask me to turn it off as they usually do. The included video is pretty good too.

Review by Christian Madden
www.theshins.com

The Knife - Marble House
Made famous by their good friend Jose Gonzalez who sung their original version of ‘Heartbeats’, this Swedish twosome are finally reaping the attention they so rightly deserve. Having written since 1999 and with three albums under their belt, it goes to show experience does make perfect.

Pleasant on the ears and soul, The Knife are surprisingly able to mix electro funk with soft undertones of haunting operatic melodies. ‘Marble House’ is a classic example of how The Knife mix these two usually separate styles together to create a tune that you want to play again and again and should you tire of listening to it, there’s always the other six tracks on the EP to delight your ear drums with.

Review by Amy Rose
www.theknife.net

Assembly Now - Leigh On Sea
I live within spitting distance of Leigh - On- Sea, half sea-side shanty town, half uber-trendy hangout for the asymmetrical haircut brigade. Quite frankly the place is an abomination and in no way is it worthy of such a fantastic ode.

Two and a half minutes of furious foot tapping, radio-friendly brilliance with a skronky guitar breakdown and Xylophone chimes chucked in for good measure. Coming across like a sexually satisfied Bloc Party can surely only be a good thing.

B-side, Tenement is almost it's equal, an infectious Cure-esque vocal hook

('This is the kill, this is the kill'), building to frustrated yelping but with optimistic overtones throughout. Clocking in at less than three minutes it never overstays it's welcome.

Released through Label Fandango who rarely put a foot wrong, expect big things from Assembly Now.

Review by Johnny Chromosome
www.assemblynow.com

The Earlies - Burn The Liars
The new Earlies album is a difficult beast to get to grips with, however the two singles released so far are a good indication of what to expect, (unlike the singles from the previous album). They've gone a very much more vocal route, weighing in more heavily with songs than previous. 'Burn The Liars' is one of the standout tracks, bounding through on the back of staccato piano and bass, being a lot more condensed than previous more prog-oriented work, without losing the sense of adventure and exploration which made the band's name first time round. It's a good track although it, like the rest of the album, did still take some getting used to, missing - as it seems to - some of the easy, ethereal feel of Wandering Son et al.

Review by Aidienn Ellison
www.theearlies.com

We Are The Physics - Fear of Words
Having been little more than diverted by their debut release 'Less Than Three', I was amazed to find myself blown away by this Scottish four-piece when I saw them live for the first time in December.

'Fear of Words' nestles neatly between these two experiences, providing glimpses of the break neck energy and manic inventiveness of their live show, without quite capturing the charm that made them stand out that night.

It's still head and shoulders above pretty much any other release you'll read about on this page though - all catchy choruses, chant-a-long backing vocals, regional accents and massive sounding guitars. Like I expected The Futureheads to sound before I'd actually heard them and let down by the reality.

Review by Paul Madden
www.myspace.com/wearethephysics

Open Mouth / Dexy - Split Single
Open Mouth is the alias of Miss Black America front-man Seymour Patrick – recorded in downtime brought on by MBA line-up-derived frustrations. Half a world away from his Miss Black America roots, Seymour ploughs a refreshingly-unfashionable mid-nineties-Americana furrow – bringing to mind the simple, passionate material of Grant Lee Buffalo, Paul Westerberg and others.

Even better however is the flipside – from South London’s Dexy – who, although a newcomer, has already bagged a support slot for Bob Dylan and been earmarked by Time Out as ‘One To Watch’ in 2007. Such lofty votes of

confidence seem very well-placed on the basis of these tracks - especially the sublime ‘Waiting For An Accident’. It’s wispy downbeat pop - a hushed lament in the style of Elliott Smith. And although the almost-medical precision with which Smith’s musical spirit is evoked may seem eerie to some, it undoubtedly makes for great music.

Open Mouth and Dexy embark on a brief UK tour together during the last week of February.

Review by Tom Leins
www.angryliberalrecords.co.uk
www.myspace.com/openmouthmusic
www.myspace.com/dexyspace

Voltage Union - On Your Marks
There is little doubt that Whiskas from Forward Russia is one shrewd chappie, with an uncanny knack of putting out the catchiest alt-pop through his Leeds based Dance To The Radio label, and this offering from Voltage Union is no exception.

A synth led fusion of Franz Ferdinand and the Zutons, disjointed vocal spasms and spiky guitars combine with just the right levels of darkness to keep them away from crossover daytime Radio One fair, and leading them along the path of just obscure enough to be your cool friends new favourite band.

Personally I prefer the New Wave urgency of the superbly monikered B-side 'Zombie #2' to the lead track, but expect to hear Voltage Union being championed by everyone from Steve Lamacq to John Kennedy in the very near future. One to keep your eyes on.

Review by Johnny Chromosome
www.voltageunion.com

Grand Prix '86 - Everybody's Dancing
I'd heard Grand Prix '86 a while back, finding them as an off-shoot of the recently very prolific (but via other bands) Bearsuit. While the band's closest relative, Cruiser Chimps, impressed straight off the bat, I wasn't initially impressed by the seemingly chirpy, inoffensive summer indie of Grand Prix. It seemed a bit too straightfoward to be the sibling of one of the most excitingly hyperactive schizophrenics in pop. That opinion hasn't changed a great deal, certainly, you wouldn't come to Grand Prix expecting another Bearsuit however, on hearing it again now (maybe re-recorded?) 'Everybody's Dancing' is a wonderfully heartening song. It's not rocket science - though there is some nice synth work and tempo control - it's just a hands-in-the-air, sway-worth summer pop tune. We certainly enjoyed it.

Review by Aidienn Ellison
www.myspace.com/grandprix86

Wojtek Godzisz - Burning Ideals
This six track debut E.P from the hirsute and unpronounceable Wojtek Godzisz, caught me slightly off guard. I was expecting something in the vein of Devandra Banhart, but instead was greeted with the swooning pop perfection and massive festival singalong chorus of the title track. With production verging on Phil Spector proportions, layer after layer of shimmering hooks building into a glistening wall of sound with Godzisz' faultless vocal piercing through, it is closer to Doves than it is to alt-folk.

If this had been released in the summertime I could well imagine it gate crashing the top 40, it's warmth and depth the perfect compliment to lazy sun

drenched Sunday afternoons.

Unfortunately there is a distinct lack of variation throughout the six tracks on offer, after the impressive opener at least four of the remaining songs tread a very similar path, leaving you feeling slightly cheated. There are six stand alone singles on this E.P but grouped together they all tend to blur into each other.

Only the E.P closer 'Light Over Dark Earth' deviates from the formula, with a spikier tempo and slightly more urgency this track leaves you wanting to hear more.

All in all this is a good E.P but it stops short of great, and surely that's what Godzisz should be aiming for.

Review by Johnny Chromosome
www.myspace.com/wojtekgodzisz

Prinzhorn Dance School - You Are The Space Invader
A bluesy guitar riff carries ‘You Are The Space Invader’, and is also the most impressive part of the song. The arrangement is bare, making it easy to imagine that this is a one man band, when in fact they are a threesome consisting of two guys and a gal. Good news for them as this is the sound they aim to achieve, sparse.

They christened themselves after psychiatrist Dr. Hans Prinzhorn, known for assembling a collection artwork created by his psychotic patients during the

last century. The lyrics serve as a reaction to CCTV cameras, it is confrontational, abstract, and makes a point about invasion of privacy, the lyrics to which are virtually chanted. The same can be said of b-side ‘Eat and Sleep’ which shares the basic nature of the previous track. I appreciate that Prinzhorn may be going for a minimalist sound, but they sound more like a sound check than a coherent band at the moment, perhaps still in the nascent stages of their development. Though Prinzorn Dance School appear to have a social conscience which is more evolved than their musical talent, they are working on a debut with DFA Records for their growing number of fans to look forward to.

Review by Nancy Roxx
www.prinzhorn-dance-school.com

F451 - The Battleground Is Everywhere
Hearts on their sleeves politico-pop punk defiance from the Chelmsford three-piece. This E.P kicks off with the breakneck speed power pop of 'We Are Youth', punctuated by the sneering but unaffected lead vocal, dripping with pent up Essex frustration and venom, this is no three chord Ramones rip off. Layered, energetic and heartfelt, a call to arms for disaffected youth in a way that the countless Emo fashionistas can never pull off. Kids stop listening to Fall Out Boy, grab yourself a snooker ball in a sock, a placard and F451 on your Ipod and start making a difference.

Second track 'Bass & Bombs' is closer in feel to the Human League than it is

to Green Day, which shows a depth rarely explored by the genre. Three tracks are only enough to whet your appetite, and I expect to hear a lot more this bunch of noisy upstarts very soon. Recommended.

Review by Johnny Chromosome
www.f451.org.uk

Honeytrap - The Naked Dancing EP
‘Mussolini’s Son’ wraps up this EP on an enchanting high. It’s a cross between 90’s band Space and Tom Waits’ avant-garde jazziness. The tango style violin remains intensely seductive throughout the track as it grows, climaxes and crashes back down. These attributes, along with slurring vocals that drunkenly lean toward sarcasm, make it a haunting and hypnotic track. An image of a sepia soaked smoky carnival scene is formed by the sound. It’s creepy and charmingly weird, perhaps kinky even, and enticing enough to warrant a replay.

Though the rest of ‘The Naked Dancing EP’ is not as captivating as its closing number, it does deserve compliment. The songs share violins and organised

chaos but remain varied nonetheless. Ranging from the revved up shrieks of both instruments and vocals in the title track to the simple and embracing bewailing that makes up most of ‘I Don’t Know How It Begins’. ‘Spotlight’ is the pop song on the EP, the least surprising and the weakest of the four songs, reminiscent of The Smiths in places and not as original sounding as its fellow numbers.

However, this does not take away from the idea that ‘The Naked Dancing EP’ would be well suited to an arty film soundtrack, it’s curious, unusual and entertaining, overall making a sturdy collection of mildly camp indie songs from Honeytrap.

Review by Nancy Roxx
www.myspace.com/honeytraponmyspace

The Maple State - Joanna
The opening line 'This is a fight song but without the violence' is a corker, surely this is setting us up to be on the receiving end of a blistering lo-fi anthem, the sort of thing that leaks from the very pores of Wayne Coyne? Isn't it? It isn't you say? Bugger.

Instead of blowing your mind, the lead track washes over you in a soothing but ultimately unsatisfying manner. Watered down Futureheads backing vocals failing to grab you by the scruff of the neck and force you to listen and to love.

Ironically the main hook of b-side 'Wood and Rain' is the line 'hold, hold, hold

your attention' an attribute that this single lacks in vast quantities. Like a tub of hot water to soak your feet in after a long day, this single is pleasant enough but not exactly memorable, on occasion skating too close towards the realm of latter period Counting Crows for it's own good. Earnest and heartfelt, there is very little to dislike about The Maple State, but more tellingly on this offering there is even less to love.

Review by Johnny Chromosome
www.themaplestate.co.uk

Mad Staring Eyes - Walking In The Streets
To date, London based four piece Mad Staring Eyes have supported The Subways, The Automatic, The Fratellis and The Guillemots with their brand of indie rock meets catchy pop after winning The Glastonbury John Peel unsigned band competition in 2005.

'Walking In The Streets' is available as an EP and a single, the latest example of the bands late 80’s crowd pleasing sound. The Smiths influence is apparent from the off (and especially when leading into the chorus), whilst undertones of The Cure and The Jam are also woven into both music and lyrics throughout the track. 'Walking In The Streets' remains consistent with the noises that Mad

Staring Eyes have been making for a while, with keyboards, rock guitar solos and heavy bass ever present.

Often likened to Maximo Park they seem to possess the ingredients for success, once referred to as the most talked about unsigned band of 2005. The repetition of the chorus can become tedious at the end, but overall the song is catchy and trendy enough amid the current music scene to get stuck in your head, and up beat/new wave enough to get the kids moving.

Review by Nancy Roxx
www.themadstaringeyes.com