Gotta have Faith, Faith, Faith, bay-bee

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I HAVE a sneaking suspicion that Paloma Faith, whose album Do You Want The Truth Or Something Beautiful? is looming, is actually a music industry-created cyborg.
She sings a bit like Duffy, she's got cool hip hop beats and brass like Amy Winehouse, she's as energetic as Alesha Dixon, has a dress sense to rival Lady Gaga and even got hair like Elly Jackson from La Roux on her album cover.
And she's got some great songs as well, like opener Stone Cold Sober.
There is a mechanical feel to some of the album, like she's got a pop song production line going on, but nevertheless, Faith has crafted an album to rival her rivals'.

Muse amuse

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I DON'T normally stoop to reviewing albums that have already been released, being a supercool journalist with his finger on the pulse and all that jazz, but resisting The Resistance is futile.
Now the new Muse album isn't their best ever, but it is absolutely essential listening.
Because the album is theatrical and political, pompous and outrageous, silly and overblown and experimental, glam and opera and rock, and totally unique in 2009.
What The Resistance is, ultimately, is an album that's got people talking for all the right reasons - Trending Topic anyone?
What I will say, however, is if they persist in making music this overblown, at least they should start wearing capes or masks or wigs or something befitting - just a thought, lads.

Indisco out

LOUGHBOROUGH'S Nick Corelli currently has a single out, Indisco, alongside Tom Piper.
The release precedes a new album from his MYNC project expected later this year.

Hockey OK

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MIND Chaos, the new album by Hockey, is a jolly old affair.
The Oregan-based group's pop shtick is a cross between the pummelling rock of The Strokes and the witty electro disco of LCD Soundsystem, best demonstrated with the glorious opener Too Fake.
There are plenty of diversions from this though, with self-proclaimed '80s grooves, Bob Dylan impressions and sparse funk rock segments a-plenty - although these tend to see a dip in quality too.
It's not a cerebral listen, and the erratic nature of the LP stunts the flow a little, but if you like mainstream rock, and you don't mind chaos, try Mind Chaos.

Goody goody Kid Cudi

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I FOUND Kanye West protoge Kid Cudi's highly-anticipated Man On The Moon: The End Of Day a frustrating listen - even though I liked it.
The rising rapper clearly has the talent to eclipse a lot of his rivals, but this album just doesn't rock it quite as much as it should.
For example, the flagship single Day And Night's ponderous album version is a shadow of the single version which launched the Jay-Z and Mr Hudson collaborator.
There is some brilliant production work here, some tight flows, and a guest list including Common, Kanye West, MGMT and Ratatat - which gives some idea of the esteem Cudi, real name Scott Ramon Seguro Mescudi, is held in.
And tracks like Simple As..., the Lady Gaga-baiting Make Her Say and Alive (Nightmare) back this up - but overall, the album still wanes as much as it waxes.

A Toast to Beth Jeans Houghton

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BETH Jeans Houghton is a folky female singer songwriter brimming with youth.
However unlike the likes of Florence And The Machine and Alessi's Ark, the Newcastle artist's indie folk melange is utterly free from angst, instead with guitar work and jolly strings a go-go demonstrating nothing but wide-eyed exuberance.
This scatterbrained EP, Hot Toast Volume One, sees her flitting between five fleetingly-short and wildly-differing tracks.
If someone can pin her down long enough to make an album, it could be quite a prospect.

Heavy going strong

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WHEN The Heavy released their first album, the brilliant Great Vengeance And Furious Fire, in 2007, a lot of people took them lightly.
But with their second effort, The House That Dirt Built, the group's grubby funk rock demands attention.
The funk element is retained, while singer Kelvin Swaby has added grit to his soulful vocals.
And musically, the band have been augmented by a dearth of choice samples - such as the brilliant rejigging of Screamin' Jay Hawkins on single Sixteen - which add a variety they lacked, while their beats have been beefed up.
For example stand-out track Short Change Hero sounds like Curtis Mayfield jamming with Gnarls Barkley on the set of a spaghetti western.
On this form, there's a weighty argument that The Heavy have crafted one of the albums of the year.

Lost in translation?

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A LEADING light of the African musical powerhouse that is Mali, Bassekou Kouyate's forthcoming I Speak Fula is the follow-up to Segu Blue, the album that launched him internationally.
And on top of his success, Kouyate is now well-known outside Africa's shores for his work with artists including Carlos Santana, Franz Ferdinand and U2.
However despite the pedigree, the latest LP from the ngoni player and his backing band Ngoni Ba remains relatively impenetrable to my ears.
Though pleasant, the combination of the banjo-like ngonis and Fula singing, energetic as it is, fails to move me quite as I was told it would.

Total Madness

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TOTAL Madness?
I'll give you total madness - giving somebody a 23-track greatest hits package and asking them to write something original about a band that's a household name.
Because if you don't know 2 tone chart pioneers Madness from tracks like Baggy Trousers, Our House, My Girl, One Step Beyond, It Must Be Love, Driving In My Car and Night Boat To Cairo, you've most probably already been taken to the asylum.

New video under the microscope

LOUGHBOROUGH electronica artist Kelpe has a new single, Microscope Contents, out on September 21.
The video for the single has just been revealed.
Kelpe said: "Thanks to everyone who let me film their throats!"

Kid rock Brit pop

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YOU'VE heard of dad rock - upstarts Kid British are more lad rock.
Like a cross between The Streets and The Twang, on It Was This Or Football... the group sing of playing football and birds and living in the city and that sort of thing, with poor annunciation coz they're yoofs, innit.
There are some interesting touches in the upbeat ska-tinged indie pop here - such as the Madness sampling on Our House is Dadless - underneath the posturing.
But mostly It Was This Or Football... never really kicks off quite as it threatens to.

Dark Knight

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IT IS pretty much undisputed that stalwart soul singer Beverley Knight is one of the finest British voices of the past decade.
So will somebody please write her some decent songs.
Although 100% sees the singer running at full capacity vocally, trilling and warbling and belting magnificently, her self-penned songs here are staid, stagnant and never a showcase for Knight's singing abilities.
Each track is obvious, sounding like Michael Jackson number circa Off The Wall shamelessly regurgitated - soul with no soul.
100%? Pffff - this is more like 35% or 40%.

Wish on

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OSTARA is the second album from the fruitful Wishing Tree project.
A mixture of folky leanings and prog rock, Ostara is blossoming with meticulously crafted songs - not a surprise as songwriter Steve Rothery is one in Marillion.
His effortless guitar work coupled with the glorious vocals of singer Hannah Stobart make for an enjoyable listen, if a little unchallenging.
However I have to say it's all a little "hey nonny" for my liking - though it could never be, I picture Ostara's recording session as Rothery with a wizard-like beard playing guitar in a chainmail suit, with Stobart dressed as a medieval princess singing while dragons soar and swoop overhead.
I wish.

Disney make a lasting impression

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ONE man mission Windmill, real name Matthew Dillon, penned his new album Epcot Starfields about a childhood visit to Disney's Epcot Centre as a child.
Obviously the memories of a great family holiday weren't the only thing he brought back from Florida.
Because Dillon's vocals sound like a cross between Kermit The Frog and Neil Young - certainly not how young men from Newport Pagnell usually sound.
This really stands in the way of what could be a great LP for me.
Added to that, there are virtually no drums on the record, which helps lend a nebulous sound to the record - an expansive approach that ultimately leaves a lot of his well-crafted work just hanging there, without the thrust to really thrill.

Porcupine three out of five

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I'LL say one thing for Porcupine Tree - they give you value for money.
Their latest LP, The Incident, is so expansive, it's spread over two CDs - disc one is the 14-part opus The Incident, with a further four tracks on the second instalment.
And while predominately a prog outfit, there's swaths that recall Pink Floyd circa Dark Side Of The Moon, ambient wanderings and even Nine Inch Nails-style industrial sections.
But here's the barb - Porcupine Tree are jacks of all trades, but masters of none.
Despite the prog rock vibe there's not a shredding guitar solo in sight, and it all feels laboured due to the sheer scale of the band's ambition.
It should come as no surprise that the best part of this album the EP-style second disc.

Lott property

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BRIT hot property Pixie Lott has a lot of hype to back up with her album, Turn It Up.
And the tabloid-botherer, real name Victoria, manages for the best part to justify this with her pop shtick, reminiscent of a one-woman The Saturdays.
As always, the singles, such as the infectious Mama Do, which burrows into your head like a parasite, are slick.
And although the tracks are broad, unashamed pop, the quality of these doesn't sag as the album progresses - the mark of a good pop album.
Unlikely to be back on my stereo for a long time, if at all - it's just really not my scene - nevertheless there'll be a lot of listeners out there waiting for Turn It Up to turn up.

Q-Tip top

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THE new Q-Tip album, Kamaal The Abstract, sees him looking backwards while moving forwards.
Because the LP, the third from Q-Tip - real name Kamaal Ibn John Fareed - has a real retro feel to it, despite it marking a progression for the rapper.
For a start, he does as much singing here as rapping, over tracks that see old school hip hop melded with soulful, funky, jazzy grooves.
This is easily Q-Tip's best solo work - an album to put alongside A Tribe Called Quest's finest.
What's remarkable is that despite this, the album was actually written and recorded in 2001, but shamefully not released by his label as it was deemed un-commercial.
Thankfully, from Monday, it will finally be on the shelves - so buy it.

Fantasy land for Late Of The Pier

CASTLE Donington band Late Of The Pier's debut album, Fantasy Black Channel, has picked up the Neptune Prize music award.
The album was voted by readers of website Drowned In Sound as the best that didn't get a nomination for this year's Mercury Prize, won by Speech Debelle's Speech Therapy.
A spokesman said: "Congratulations gents, especially as you're one of the albums we assumed would make the Mercury list.
"We'll be in touch about taking you out for a fish 'n' chip supper and hopefully you can tell us about the forthcoming album, eh?"
Runners up were Rolo Tomassi with Hysterics and Grammatics' album Grammatics.

Killer and filler

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FOR an album that boldly proclaims to be All Killer, Gaslamp Killer's mix is a mixed bag.
To give the superbly-named Gaslamp Killer his dues, the DJing on this release is technically amazing - you can see why the Los Angeles act is gathering a reputation.
And boldly abstaining from anything even close to a standard, or even a vaguely familiar track, his Finders Keepers Records selection plundered from vaults stretching back over the past 40 years, is a voyage of discovery for the listener.
But for every unexpectedly funky Bollywood blast or sultry soulful blues number, there's a corresponding lull somewhere on the list.
And it's this downtime that ultimately stops All Killer from getting its claws in.

Grand Hallway are landing

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PROMENADE, the new album by Grand Hallway, is landing soon.
And hopefully this effort will see the delicious Seattle-based band making a passage into the mainstream.
After all, everyone should have room for delicate, layered chamber pop songs like these, which are decked out with interesting and arresting details throughout.
The eight-piece, who sing in a mixture of English and Japanese, adorn every track on their second album with tiny loveable details, little hidden rhythms here and unexpected flourishes there - meaning Promenade really should walk straight into your collection.

A

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WHEN Chickenhawk play, feathers fly.
The Leeds-based hardcore band's new EP, A Or Not, is full-throttle rock from start to finish.
And the EP, the first new material from the band since last year's eponymous album, is also brimming with mental invention under the barrage of feedback.
My only complaint with A Or Not is that it's only three tracks long - hopefully the band can lay a golden egg in the form of a new album pretty soon.

Classic thirty eight - Haunted ressurrection

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SWEDISH band The Haunted managed to spirit up something special with their 2000 release The Haunted Made Me Do It.
Brutal metal is the order of the day, and yet, the album is still eminently listenable.
Nothing here is OTT - slimline riffing, vocals that are just the far side of unintelligible, and guitar solos that rarely stretch beyond 30 seconds.
The result is an album which neither offends the purists or alienates the casual metal fan.
So I'm making you do it - pick up a copy of The Haunted Made Me Do It now.

Hot Envy track out

FORMER Loughborough University student Envy has a new track, Set Yourself On Fire, out tomorrow.
Check out the video below.

Flavour of the month

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UNDERGROUND soul jazz act August have magicked up a full LP, It's Not The Wand It's The Magic, to back up the word-of-mouth hype.
Known for their exclusive reclusive live shows in London, August have gathered a reputation for free form musical meanderings.
However their sound here is much more modest than expected - composed of rich, soulful, orchestral and off-beat tracks mostly showcasing the vocals of Vedina Mose.
There are hints at the group's experimental leanings here, which no doubt come to the fore on stage, but the studio album is nevertheless bewitching.

Not a poor Relation

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ELECTRONIC duo Relation sound like the prodigal spawn of an array of classic influences.
The Southend band's new album, Fear Of Night, sounds like the result of a coming together of Depeche Mode and New Order, with kinship with the likes of Pet Shop Boys, The Knife and many more audible.
But the duo of Andrew Leary and Oliver Keech are more than the sum of their parts, creating intelligent, throut provoking '80s style polished pop gems.
In fact, forget all your cheesy Lady Gagas and Little Bootsies, when it comes to reviving '80s electro pop, Relation are the daddy.

Jet need a rocket

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ALTHOUGH never the most original band in the world, Aussies Jet are starting to run out of ideas.
All sorts of disparate genres are mercilessly plundered and tacked on for the group's latest, Shaka Rock - ska and disco on Beat On Repeat, funk metal on Start The Show, epic rock on Goodbye Hollywood etc.
The thing is, Jet didn't build a career on invention - and this mish mash of diversions merely leaves less room for the balls-out cock rock that made them popular in the first place.

Tomorrow today

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SEAN Kingston's album Tomorrow is a smooth offering - too smooth for its own good.
Because while American-born Jamaican Kingston, real name Kisean Jamal Anderson, churns out polished reggae R&B tracks, they have a tendency to slip by due to a lack of hooks.
It's a shame, as there are some tracks worthy of attention on his second album - such as Fire Burning, unlikely Good Charlotte collaboration Shoulda Let U Go and Wyclef duet Ice Cream Girl.
But overall Tomorrow is unlikely to see Kingston's day come.

Welcome Hobo into your home

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EVERY Saturday night from now until Christmas, Simon Cowell and his cohorts will be searching for a new pop star, somebody with the elusive X-Factor.
Much as I enjoy the programme, it's already blatantly obvious that the show will, once again, be won by a vacuous warbler who goes on to contribute the sum total of bugger all to music.
These aren't the pop stars the music industry needs - we need pop stars like Charlie Winston.
A mere sniff of Winston's charisma would likely kill Alexandra Burke stone dead.
Hobo, the debut album from singer and his backing band The Oxymorons, which is already making inroads into European charts including a number one in France, has epic songs, it has funny songs, it has serious songs and it has songs about being a duck.
It has orchestras and beatboxing and brass and pianos and guitars, and most importantly it is dripping with personality.
Now Winston may overegg his songs sometimes here, such as Kick The Bucket - it is his first effort after all - but one thing's for sure, on spin of Hobo has more X-Factor than a month of Saturdays.

Cat call for Jaguar Skills fans

JAGUAR Skills will be showing off his purrfect turntable technique in Loughborough.
The DJ will visit as part of his Vodka Ninja nationwide tour of Revolution bars, which arrives at Loughborough Revolution in Baxter Gate on September 28.

One is not amused

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IF LOVE On An Oil Rig is anything to go by, I won't be applying for membership to Victorian English Gentlemens Club anytime soon.
Because the album, the Welsh three-piece group's second, is like an in-joke that I just don't understand.
It's deliberately obtuse but not funny, and the punk indie rock music on show is wonky to the point of being unlistenable, with only The Venereal Game actually passable as a standalone track.
Even the band's name, with its missing apostrophe, gets my dander up.
One is not amused.

Dot on the horizon

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SCOTTISH singer songwriter Dot Allison has already had one swoop at the charts - as the frontwoman of '90s dance act One Dove.
And her new approach, the synth-free indie album Room 7½, has won the former Death In Vegas and Massive Attack vocalist a lot of people cooing over her once again - not least album guests Pete Doherty and Paul Weller.
You'd think that this might have cheered her up.
But for me, although Allison clearly still has a lot to offer, and I am salivating over the prospect of an album of duets called Collaborations she has in the pipeline, Room 7½ is just too dreary throughout for my tastes.

New Basement Jaxx video unveiled

BELOW is the new video to Basement Jaxx's forthcoming single, Feelings Gone, featuring Sam Sparro.

Electric Orb

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REJUVINATED and recharged, chill-out pioneers The Orb return with a new dance album, Baghdad Batteries.
However you'd be forgiven for not noticing straight away - because their ninth LP gives the listener almost nothing to go on until track four or five.
The effect is akin to being blindfolded by a lover, with these extended ambient sections emphasising it when the group stop teasing and lay on their 90s throwback beats hung over gigantic throbbing bass.
And as a result, Baghdad Batteries is electric.

Y it's brilliant

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THE time is right for 11:11, the new album by Rodrigo Y Gabriela, a Mexican duo of two metal fans that play Spanish guitars who had to move to Dublin, Ireland, for their flamenco music to be noticed.
And this cosmopolitan theme is continued on the group's latest LP, with guest spots from Iranian-Costa Rican flamenco duo Strunz And Farah and American jazz metal guitarist Alex Skolnick.
There's lots to stroke chins about - not least that each track is dedicated to an act that's influenced the pair, such as Jimi Hendrix, Dimebag Darrell and Pink Floyd.
But the draw here, as on their self-titled previous release, is the amazing interplay between guitarists Rodrigo Sánchez and Gabriela Quintero, whose energetic strum-and-solo style is simply finger picking good.

Terra towers

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HOLLYWOOD hotshot Juliette Lewis's new LP, Terra Incognita, is set to land on Monday, and it's well worth acquainting yourself with.
Produced by Mars Volta member Omar Rodriguez-Lopez, and with a new backing band, The New Romantiques in place of The Licks, Lewis sounds refreshed.
Country and blues tinged rock tracks like Terra Incognita, Noche Sin Fin and All Is For Good see Lewis balancing abandon and accessibility brilliantly, like a drunken Sheryl Crow shooting vultures with a shotgun.

Dodos so-so

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I LIKENED The Dodos 2008 album Visiter to a lovable hobo - their 2009 follow-up Time To Die is the equivalent of washing said hobo and putting him in a suit.
Because although the latest LP is less dishevelled and more confident than previously, it’s also missing some of its original charm.
There’s still a lot to love in the group’s brand of ramshackle psychedelic folk.
But if Visiter, with all it’s critical praise, didn’t crack the UK, don’t expect The Dodos to take off any time soon.

Basement Jaxx no longer XL

DANCE act Basement Jaxx are to part company with their record label XL - claiming that releasing music isn't what it used to be.
With the release of Scars next month the group will have fulfilled a five-album deal, and a new contract has not been offered, say the pair.
Former Loughborough schoolboy Felix Buxton said: “XL haven’t offered us a new deal, but I didn’t imagine they would.
“You don’t need a record company now - they aren’t so relevant. All you need is someone to distribute your music.
"Besides, you only make money through touring now.”
Luckily, Basement Jaxx will follow the release of Scars with a tour including a series of North American DJ dates.

Noah And The Whale Spring a surprise

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ANYONE expected more summery folk-pop chart-troublers on The First Days Of Spring will be as disappointed as Noah was when that pesky whale swallowed his arc.
For Noah And The Whale have had a change since their last effort, Peaceful, The World Lays Me Down, which was typified by the hit Five Years Time.
Demonstrating their love of an orchestra, the group have dropped the pop element, and gone all classical, with seven-minute tracks which rise and fall like movements replacing the pop nuggets - and where before they sang of love, here they sing of heartbreak.
It's utterly unexpected, it's utterly enthralling, and it's utterly brilliant.

Just Jack is served

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PRIOR to this review, I had the impression that Just Jack was a watered down version of The Streets - The Canals, perhaps?
But listening to the opening singles showcase on his new album, All Night Cinema, I had to give him credit.
Curtain raiser Embers is a fantastic track, perhaps his best to date, while sure-fire single 253 and his current single, the tender The Day I Died, show there's more than just that to Just Jack, real name Jack Allsopp.
Sadly this goodwill was all but gone by the end of the dire dance pop of the appalling Doctor Doctor, and the rest of the London pop star's third LP continues in this hit and miss fashion.
But despite All Night Cinema being broad and haphazard, I would recommend you give Just Jack a listen, if only just once.

Royal Sunlight a tweet for fans

YOUNG Knives are today beavering away writing for the new album, Royal Sunlight.
And if you tweet suggestions of song titles to the band's Belton born singer Henry Dartnall, @helpmedarling, you could see your suggestions on the track listing.
Earlier today he said: "I need a name for a song.
"If there's a good one we will use it.
"Meaninglessness to be encouraged."

Don't Ignore The Cribs

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WAKEFIELD family firm The Cribs have been joined by former Smiths tunesmith Johnny Marr for their new album Ignore The Ignorant.
But it's business as usual for the Jarmans - just straightforward rock and roll that you'd be foolish to overlook.
Marr's jangles slot nicely into crisp Cribs compositions such as We Share The Same Skies, adding an extra dimension to the group's sound.
And while there's no big hit here that will hoist the group to the top, the solid Ignore The Ignorant will surely continue the group's steady ascent up the charts.

Ambient Orb offering

AHEAD of their new album, dance pioneers The Orb are offering an ambient track titled Mutant Ambience as a free taster.
Click here to download the track, which doesn't appear on the album, and whet your appetite for Baghdad Batteries, which is released on September 7.

Set it out for Young Knives

BELTON born band Young Knives are letting their fans decide the setlist for their upcoming London show.
The trio are taking part in a series of gigs celebrating the fifth birthday of their label Transgressive Records - and currently they look set to play tracks including She's Attracted To, Counters and Weekends And Bleak Days (Hot Summer).
Fans can vote for the tracks they want to hear at Young Knives' date at gay club Heaven on September 24 by clicking here.

Tea cheers for Voluntary Butler Scheme

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ONE man band Rob Jones's debut album as The Voluntary Butler Scheme is out on Monday - is it worth the wait?
On Breakfast, Dinner, Tea, Jones has a classic songwriting approach, demonstrating a clear gift for penning wry lyrics, like.
He then takes these twee tracks and stirs them up with unexpected electronic hints - resulting in an LP that sounds like Hot Chip singing Beatles numbers.
My only criticism is that the tracks can be a tad lightweight, not much to get your teeth into - consider Breakfast, Dinner, Tea more like a light snack.

Tree cheers for Wye Oak

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BALTIMORE-based band Wye Oak, who take their name from a 460-year-old tree, haven't branched out on their new album The Knot, just consolidated.
The duo of Jenn Wasner and Andy Stack have put together another shoegazing indie record like last year's If Children, with songs that have grown to be as epic as redwoods.
With flecks of American folk roots music over rousing yet restrained rock, the album is stunning in places - although at other times it can sound like an Arcade Fire 45 being played at 33rpm.
But in among all these slow-growing drones there's some great tracks - it's a case of giving it enough listens to see the wood for the trees.

Concepts Of Gold record

CHARNWOOD band Ashdowne have posted a new track, Concepts Of Gold, on their myspace.
A spokesman said: “Please take time to have a listen and let us know what you think!”

Three Trapped Tigers to be released

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IN JANUARY, I tipped Three Trapped Tigers as one to watch this year.
And now, eight looong months later, I finally, finally have a new release to salivate over.
Luckily the London band, who play Aphex Twin-style IDM music on live rock band instrumentation, continue where they left off with their first effort EP.
Literally, in fact - their second EP, EP2, starts with their sixth track, titled 6.
With shifting, skittering patterns of organic beats and brooding ebbing and flowing ornamentation from guitar, keyboard and vocal harmonies, there's a primal power contained within Three Trapped Tiger's tight musicianship and sophisticated song structures.
With a full album planned for 2010, which will no doubt be called Album, now is the perfect time to be introduced to Three Trapped Tigers - they're grrreat.

Strawberry Cables

WYMESWOLD band Wave Pictures are set to release a new single.
Strawberry Cables, the second single from the If Leave It Alone album, is available from October 26.

Sam but not me

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SAM And Me, the duo of Sam 'Sam' Zindel and Rowan 'Me' Dawes alongside Mitchell Johnson and Dan Black, are set to release their album The Battle Of Hemsby - a puzzlingly-titled LP.
Because with their nice and simple pop songs played on nice and simple instrumentation, they don't seem the most aggressive, confrontational, battling type of band, what with with their tight vocal harmonies and dreamy sound.
But it's this lack of aggression of any kind, standout track If I Fall, Can I? excepted, which lets their first release down for me - it's just all too nicey nice throughout.
And we all know where nice guys finish, right?

Parental advisory

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I LOVE Mùm.
No, that's not an ill-advised, drunkenly-conceived tattoo I have adorning my pasty body - it's a statement of my regard for the post-folk rocktronica band Mùm.
Because it's impossible not to feel affection for the quaint sound that the Icelandic group fashion on their latest album, Sing Along To Songs You Don't Know.
Revolving around the Arcade Fire-reminiscent vocals of Hildur Guðnadóttir and Sigurlaug Gísladóttir, the group's sound is soft and charming yet subtly mangled, strange and yet pop.
Quite simply, Mum's the word

Offshore is on

LONDON dance duo Kitch N Sync have revamped the lead track from one of my all-time favourite dance albums.
Click here to grab the Global 2009 Mix of Chicane's classic Offshore, originally from the album Far From The Maddening Crowds.

Kelpe yourself

LOUGHBOROUGH electronic artist Kelpe has a new mix CD coming out next month.
Death Before Distemper Four is a 46-minute mix of DC Recordings artists including Depth Charge, Alexander’s Dark Band and Orichalc Phase, which is due for release on September 14.
Also, Kelpe has a new album in the pipeline, planned for release in October.

Classic thirty seven - Still Bill is still killer

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Q) HOW do you make a duck into a soul singer?

A) Put it in the oven until it's Bill Withers!

Too often is this joke greeted with the retort: "Eh? Who? I don't get it."

It's time for the Withers revival, people, so let me recommend Still Bill as the place for novices to start.

The word still in the title of the legend's 1972 studio outing is incredibly apt.

For throughout Bill is still, serene, almost effortless, as he lays down an array of nearly always funky, at times touching, and always brilliant soul classics.

Tearjerkers like Lean On Me sit side by side with unstoppable grooves like Who Is He (And What Is He To You) and Use Me, and not a note is wasted over the 10 tracks.

Not having this in your collection is just quackers.

Million Dead resurrected

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WOODY Guthrie, Bob Dylan, The Levellers - every generation has their social commentators.
And nobody around at the moment flies the flag for disaffected youth quite so brilliantly as folk troubadour Frank Turner.
However a huge swath of the growing fan base of Turner don't actually realise he cut his teeth screaming as frontman of hardcore act Million Dead.
A Song To Ruin, Million Dead's debut which is re-released on Monday with a few bonus extras six years after its first outing, showcases his former self brilliantly, and may even enlighten a few of his newer fans.
Because one listen to Breaking The Back or Smiling At People On Trains brings it all back, if you were aware of him before he threw off the fuzzy feedback shroud and went solo.

Blitzen the charts

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ON THEIR latest release, Black River Killer, the evocative gothic Americana that's gathering Blitzen Trapper their enviable reputation just flows out of the speakers.
Expanding on their 2008 album Furr, the group continue to mix American folk with sparse splashes of psychedelia.
With time-tested feel to it, evoking Neil Young, Bob Dylan, and even a little Rod Stewart on closer Big Black Bird, the seven-track EP is a superb showcase for the Portland sextet who show the kind of promise that means there's nothing wrong with mentioning them, Young and Dylan in the same sentence.
Quite simply, Blitzen Trapper should have you snared.

Confutatis?

BASEMENT Jaxx star Felix Buxton may be a dance legend - but behind closed doors for the former Loughborough schoolboy it's more a case of 'rock me Amadeus'!
In an article on pop stars' 'hidden gems', Buxton revealed his love for Confutatis, from Mozart's Requiem: "I'm a bit obsessed with requiems, especially those by Verdi and Mozart.
"Eight years ago, Simon and I used to walk on stage to the Dies Irae from Verdi's Requiem, but a bit of me always worried that we were disrespecting the dead.
"Music that gives a glory to death is fantastic.
"It makes you beat your chest and go: 'oh, for a proud death!'
"What's great about the Confutatis is that it's music that moves the simple man as well as the critic.
"It's like showing a great painting to a coal miner as well as an art expert - they'll both think it's wonderful.
"You can find the joy of life in it, and the madness of love - it can make you go nuts, or it can calm you down.
"But most of all, there's a positivity to it, especially in the pain.
"It's easy to wallow in misery, but to make it wonderful is hard to pull off.
"Radiohead do that in modern music, and it's what we aim for, too - but obviously no one can do it like Mozart."

Patriot, I salute you

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IF THIS one is new to you, then I must confess I'm proud to be introducing you to Patriot, the second album from instrumental act Cougar.
It gives me great honour to bring you a band which makes such a glorious, intricate, sophisticated noise - it's really something to get your teeth into.
The Wisconsin group create a brand of beautiful post-rock that's half Mogwai, half Battles, which as you'd expect from a band signed to Ninja Tune is laced with glitchy electronic flickers and irresistible beats, courtesy of drummer D.H. Skogen, also of Youngblood Brass Band.
The muscianship is tight and the invention of the tracks enthralling, and as an album it's consistently challenging from start to glorious finish.
Patriot, I salute you.

Classic thirty six - Everyone needs Time Out

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TAKE Five, easily the most recognisable track on The Dave Brubeck Quartet's 1959 jazz album Time Out, was the first ever million-selling jazz single.

You've heard it, even if you didn't know it at the time.

Yet the group achieved this unprecedented commercial success while pushing the boundaries of the genre, with the album typified by the use of unusual time signatures.

In fact the seminal cool jazz album was intended merely as an experiment, and was derided by critics on its release.

But this fluid approach to the beat does not stop the album from swinging - actually Time Out is exactly that, sheer get-away-from-it-all in LP form.

Because despite the sophisticated nature of the music, there's nothing here that in any way detracts from listening to Time Out being an absolute timeless pleasure.

A load of Ist

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LEICESTER band Ist's new album Toothpick Bridge is out on Monday, and much as I hate to scrape away and cross an up-and-coming almost local band, the release is severely underwhelming.
Backed by Leicester's nearly-men The Swinging Laurels, the album has a brassy foundation on which it builds an almost-Mavericks style vibe, with country-tinged pub rock the order of the day.
But although this is a passable album, there's nothing here which sticks - making it pretty bog-standard fare.
Ultimately Toothpick Bridge is unlikely to go down in 'istory.

Griminal mastermind

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WASN'T it Tinchy Stryder who climbed up the waterspout?
No?
My mistake.
No, grime mastermind Stryder is the one that climbed up the charts to hit number one alongside Dappy from N-Dubz with Number One.
And the album, Catch 22, is a showcase for the incey wincey star's hit potential - the propheticly-titled Number One, Take Me Back, the brilliantly-titled Stryderman, Never Leave You...
The catch is, at 18 tracks, as you can imagine, there's as many misses here as there are surefire hits - you could say it's a Catch 22 situation.
But if you're a fan, then you can't lose.

Kid 606 growing

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SCHIZOTRONIC DJ Kid 606 must have been taking his pills.
The last time I reviewed the Berlin-based Venezuelan-born American electronica artist Kid 606, real name Miguel Trost Depedro, for his erratic Mr Wobble's Nightmare EP, he stuffed dance genres haphazardly into the mix like a modern day Jive Bunny.
However here, his ravetastic techno - while still laced with unexpected booty bass, house beats and junglist interludes here, there and everywhere - is almost coherent.
So while he is admittedly cheesy at times, and long-winded at others, his Dancehall Of The Dead EP, which clocks in longer than most artists' LPs, is actually worth a visit.

University line-up announced

A STUNNING line-up of music has been announced at Loughborough University.
Starting on September 23 with Stavros Flatley performing a student-only show, stars of TV, comedy and music will be gracing the stage of the Students’ Union.
Again NUS-only, on September 24 Faces Of Disco will be at the venue, then on September 25 Seb Fontaine will appear in a gig that is open to the general public.
Chart-topper Calvin Harris will perform a student-only show on October 2, then the student-only Freshers’ Ball, making the end of the first week for the new recruits at Loughborough University, will see Daniel Merriweather, N-Dubz, N-Trance, The Outhere Brothers and comedian Matt Horne on the bill.
Later in the term gigs by comedian Simon Bird, on October 10, and dance group Chase And Status, on November 5, will be open to the public.
Entertainments spokesman Steve Black said: “The line-up is probably the strongest Freshers’ Week we’ve done.
“There’s a while host of other things going on all week as well to encourage students to keep on campus.”
For more information on tickets, call 01509 635000 or click here.