The Jones

Frenetic indie-rock would appear to be the order of the day with The Jones if 'In My Head' is anything to go by. Frantic vocals and searing guitars abound in what is an assuredly confident introduction to the world. With that in mind then, it's unfortunate that double A-side, 'Wideawake', offers a more angsty take on a heavily saturated genre but it's with closing track, 'Killer Killer' that The Jones return to form with bucket loads of crashing guitars and hollering vocals. Keeping up with The Jones might just be the best move you make this year.

Gemma Winks

Screaming Maldini

Screaming Maldini are a bunch of over-caffeinated youngsters from Sheffield talented enough to write a pop song that's catchy but also interesting and a little unpredictable. The Extraordinary makes overabundant use of the type of horns that haven't really been cool in about 30 years, sounding a bit like Maxïmo Park redid the theme song to some 1970s sitcom about a US lawyer and his zany exploits. Nevertheless, it is catchy. The real downside to this pretty decent song is the production gloss that makes the proceedings all a little too Hall & Oates for my liking. Songs this pretty need to be roughed up a bit around the edges to truly succeed, a trick they manage with more success on Secret Sounds. This song crams about 8000 ideas into its three and a half minutes. There are pounding drums, handclaps, synth strings, bells, little a cappella bits, keyboards, ahhhhh-ahhhhh vocals and even some lyrics about kookaburras, which might make sense on some astral plane. All of this action could lead to one big mess, but they manage to make it into a damn catchy pop song. This is a very promising start, as long as they resist the urge to throw every trick of the mixing board at their songs.

Dion Curry

Televaters

Expecting some sort of Mars Volta tinged/Mars Volta thieving outfit, hence the moniker that's identical to one of their songs; what was presented instead was something of a whole different ballpark. Something that puts you in another place. That place being a mildly unpopulated student pub, where Televaters perform 'Alone', a well-rehearsed but panache deficient blend of mediocre vocals and lyrics, with irrelevant Hawkwind-ified guitar solos. Up next is 'Storm Warning', an interesting, introspective, er, introduction only to be entrapped by an indie-interpreted angry power ballad. That intro though signifies that there's some worthy development in this band yet to come. So as their humble lyrics say: "don't throw it away".

Allan Judkins

In The Black

According to their bio In The Black are, 'Four guys washed over and out, with jobs created to sap out of their hearts every last hope and dream they have ever had…' Christ almighty, anyone would think that these fellas have been living their lives as Dickensian chimney sweeps, toiling their way through London's Carbon Monoxide filled labyrinth of misery for less than a penny a day! This in all probability is not a true reflection of the day-to-day lives of the In The Black posse. Perhaps a pint and a cuddle would cheer them up? Maybe it'll help them to know that their music is actually rather good. For four (apparently) miserable it transpires that ITB make a hearty, upbeat collaboration of 80's punk and rock 'n' roll. Opener 'Blind Man' has a cracking Jah Wobble style bass line before storming through your front door with a very good Nirvana impression. 'If I Told You' is an absolute gem for those like me who believe the antithesis of noise and melody is Husker Du's post hardcore years. 'Don't Call Me' continues the theme and E.P closer 'Iota' rekindles fond memories of a raw Fugazi moment. Overall the sound encompasses pounding drums, ear crunching distortion and raspy vocals. Four very accomplished slices of musical cake. 'This is the sound we were forced to make' the bio informs me. All things considered it couldn't have turned out much better.

Nick Sell

Chasing Amy

I had thought that typical pop punk bands that a lot of teenage girls seem to be obsessed by had cowered in the shadows for a while, as enough of them have been and gone over the years, but apparently they're trying to make a come-back... Chasing Amy are a Sheffield based band fitting this genre, and I thought I'd give them the benefit of the doubt and hoped they weren't going to follow the usual trend of songs, but apparently I was too naive. 'You Had Me At Hello' and 'I Keep My Eyes Shut' are powerful pop punk songs with catchy guitar riffs that could make little 'moshers' go crazy at gigs, but the novelty I'm afraid to say, will probably wear off like with most bands similar to them. Their songs are OK for one listen, then I kind of think that they aren't original enough to stand out. 'Made Of Pre-Teen Girls And Fail' is a song title I'd pretty much expected to see on their demo, and the thought of - I've heard this all before about two years ago, seems to take hold of me after I'd heard the whole demo.

Amy Baker

The Ambersons

The Ambersons are a North West 4 piece that are somewhat of a conundrum. It all starts so promising, first song 'A Beautiful Mistake' is full of interesting sounds, harmonised vocals and a good change of pace at the chorus. Funky, upbeat and enthralling it would grace any indie dance floor and bring a smile to many a face. It could be held in comparison to the standard of Grand National and Radio 4. Unfortunately 'Little Soldier Girl' and 'Smile' can only be seen as its B-Sides. I actually had to check if I was listening to the same band as the style change to that of rather boring, predictable ballad. Showing Beatles influences on 'Little Soldier Girl' and Bowie on 'Smile' they both reminded me of the Liam Gallagher penned childness that was Oasis 'Little James'. Here's hoping there is more of the mechanical, robotic pop of 'A Beautiful Mistake' to start the dance.

Iain Ferry

Rob J Madin

Refreshing, original talent is hard to come by at the moment, but there may be hope in 22 year old Rob J Madin. He is a musician from Chesterfield who writes and produces all of his tracks, and is multi-talented as he also plays guitar, does all the sythns, drum programming and vocals - with some help from others with horn sections and backing vocals included in some songs. All these sounds mixed together makes fantastic mixture of pop, rock and lounge music with a twist. It's fun, energetic and novelty, and all the songs are very well produced. Rob's influences include Elton John, Pulp and David Bowie, which reflects in his music as it seems quite 'Old Skool'. 'Amnesia du soleil' has an almost magical sound, and 'Someone Else's Mind' is refreshing and uplifting. So keep an eye out for Rob J Madin - the surprisingly unique talent.

Amy Baker

The Life Project

With a moniker that makes them sound less of a band and more like an American cult, Liverpool's The Life Project create chirpy guitar pop the masses can pogo to. '11:11' is a guitar-heavy number offering a vehement (if unaware) nod to the US college rock of the mid-nineties unlike 'Codis' which opts for catchy indie-pop beats more typical of the current crop of northern lad bands. In the absence of a bit more honing and a tad more direction, The Life Project aren't going to ensnare your mind just yet.

Gemma Winks

Jimmy Holland

This is a great track. From the first bars it is driven by an acoustic chord-based hook, which soon opens into full band, wide-screen riffage, oozing lashings of Charlatans-style rock. It's a driving, atmospheric track that is no doubt a great opener at Jimmy Holland live shows. Holland's voice has an element of a young Tim Wheeler about it, however it becomes slightly lost in the production at parts making a few of the lyrics hard to discern. This is a minor criticism for a song that could make a great future single.

Matt Taylor

The Witches

There are presently several bands called The Witches scattered across the globe, but this Manchester based clan's uniqueness means they can easily be distinguished from their numerous namesakes. I am usually dubious about reading too much into the categories which bands place themselves within on their MySpace pages, but The Witches seem to be pretty much 'on the money' with their surf/glam/grunge pigeonholing. The irony being that they are not easily typecast. This five-track demo comes from a band who are certainly niche in their appeal - with their heathen-like appearance, and a sound which falls somewhere between Eighties Matchbox B-Line Disaster and Louis XIV – but it should certainly not be disregarded upon its first airing. 'Rattled' stands out with its chilling howls laid over the haunting backing vocals, and whilst it is guilty of being a bit 'hit and miss' elsewhere, The Witches deserves all due credit for not falling foul of the generic clichés often found within guitar bands from their home city.

Stuart Holmes

The Score

The Score seem wistfully full of redundant 15-year-old Northern grit. Dubbing their music 'dirty space disco', their demo unfortunately offers nothing overtly new. It's energetic, and works on an immediate level but it's placed firmly in the early-naughties era of social monitor music. Granted, The Score are faultless in their regurgitation of a now well-known genre but despite the solid execution and urgent delivery, they are merely a drop in an ocean, swimming with other bands that believe they have created their own genre. Talented musicians struggling to write songs with any girth, longevity or integrity.

Simon S Wright

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