Nat Johnson

Dirty Rotten Soul

There was much consternation on the demise of Monkey Swallows the Universe, and for a while I wondered why they'd called it a day myself. This release however, confirms my suspicions that Nat was actually the major talent in MSTU and really needed to be given more creative freedom to produce her own stuff. Confirmation, if it were needed, of her talent lies in these two tracks. She writes beautiful tunes, and sings them in a way which leaves her voice hovering delicately in the air. Dirty Rotten Soul is a real upbeat anthem, whilst she gently covers Cake's Mexico on the accompanying track. I understand she's busy recording a solo album which should be a real gem.

Chris Xenra

I Concur

Oblige

You never get a second chance at a first impression, says Billie Piper playing uber-whore Belle Du Jour. You can however take an old banger and turn it into Greased Lightning. Westwood, I think, but could be Belle again. Such is I Concur's strategy for 'Oblige.' Fresh. Produced by iForward Russia!'s Tom Woodhead, the three-year old song is still skiffly mood pop, but now has added bling: Tim gets a second vocal line, Chris' guitar gets solo space, Toby's bass is crisper and James' drums ping emphatically. Sounding claustro and agoraphobic at turns, it all swirls around the one unchanged element: Tim Hann's plaintive, resigned vocals. Pop, but more refined. 'Captors' is brand new and marks a move in a post-punk direction. The riffs are angrier, the rhythms stop / start but Tim maintains that dour Yorkshire tone. The bass is underplayed, but the song construction is epic. An accomplished simple / complex combo.

Rob Wright

Lap

Point and Shoot

This is basically a very long, drawn-out screamfest. It is nigh on impossible to make out the words, and in fact there may well be none to decipher. Great whacking slabs of guitar crash in and out while the vocals alternate between a kind of horse, whiny yell and a full throated scream. It gets quite indescribably tedious and repetitive after about 30 seconds, but hangs around to bludgeon whatever point it thinks it's making for a further two minutes, like a pissed-up, belligerent tramp hurling confused abuse at strangers from a puddle of his own urine. Track two is a remastered version which is even longer. Point and shoot? Yes, I would.

Richard Morris

The Chiara L's

Knives

'Knives' appeared earlier this year on the Leeds Student Radio New Slang compilation and it still sounds like a snotty yelp of a song. Tim Oldfield's chorus bass and Dan Stretton's drums whip the whole affair along at a stinging pace, with Johnny Lee Hart's flailing guitar screaming over the top. Chiara Lucchini's gawky vocals give it a retro Eighties indie-rock feel and at just over two minutes long it's an invigorating slap around the chops. B-side 'Kate's Kid' is longer and more expansive and doesn't quite grab you by the lapels like its more incisive partner. Sure, The Chiara L's could be described as standard fare, but at least they're superior standard fare.

Johnny Ersatz-Culture

Pushbike Army

Four From Alexandra Grove

Maybe it's because I used to live nearby, but immediately the title tells me 'Four From Alexandra Grove' is about the July 7th bombers who hailed from that very street in Leeds. A brave subject, certainly, and it's heartening to see an honest, old-fashioned punk band touching on such topics once in a while - it doesn't happen enough these days. The song itself is a little less brave, a standard pop-punk affair destined to be little more than a footnote in the history of the genre; competent but far from outstanding. This single's B-sides show more promise though, with the cascading guitars of 'Farewell To My Fascist' and a piano version of 'Four From…' suggesting the band have higher aspirations than four chord singalongs. Someone call me when the album comes out.

Ross Baker

Femme Fatale

The Woah Song

Like its title, 'The Woah Song' is greatly unimaginative. After a lacklustre start, when it is given the opportunity to impress going into the chorus, it falls painfully flat. Lyrically, the track centres on the desired actions of a love interest in a very clichéd way. Judging by the far from seductive vocals of lead guitarist Emma Taylor, whoever it is she desires has their work cut out. As a whole, the band have similarities with the likes of Elastica – the bass, drums and vocal harmonies have a distinct Britpop feel to them - which is fine, but not necessarily something which needs to be revisited right now. To be fair to Femme Fatale, the production and mixing on this single does it no favours, but it nevertheless lacks the passion you would expect from a band with such a name.

Stuart Holmes

Nephu Huzzband

Should Have Used an Abacus

This really is a rarity as far as I'm concerned – a single that I bloody love! Within 45 seconds of listening to this for the first time I was singing along, the second listen was like the excitement of a second date and after that it was love. I guess the band will hate this, but can you have dark dance music? Now, don't get me wrong, this certainly isn't your 'Top of the Pops' fodder. But if you can imagine everything that's great about chart stuff (it's instant, it's catchy, it's in your head) along with everything that's great about bands who care (it's got real energy, passion and drive while retaining its dignity). This is a must have in my book, but to try to describe it, it's goth music with a hint of tribal drumming and rock guitars and just a touch of anthem. A perfect 3 minutes - more please.

Simon Clark

Pigeon Detectives

Everybody Wants Me

Rothwell's Pigeon Detectives are currently on the indie treadmill that is the festival circuit. With that in mind, their latest release, the closing number from their second album "Emergency", is the perfect track for their festival sets and will have had indie kids bouncing up and down in muddy fields all across the country. That aside, it's not the finest song they've come up with, more like another throwaway indie summer anthem which will become a fading memory once the nights start drawing in and our evenings are once again punctuated by the sound of fireworks going off. No doubt Radio 1's Chris Moyles will show some White Rose solidarity and give it plenty of airplay. Those at Channel 4's Big Brother also seem to approve, having used it on an eviction night show which begs the question what will be forgotten first: this song or the departing BB guest?

Mike Price

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