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Look Down - Amperfan
2007-06-15 09:36:00
Wonderfully eclectic and worth hanging in there for a solid helping of twists and turns ?Amperfan? is perhaps something that daytime radio would like to take a machete to. Culled from 2005?s ?24/7 Dance Force? it?s an unruly child with a schlock of curl and a vibrant personality. So it might be all over the place but if ?Slanted and Enchanted? era Pavement is your bag then you?ll probably be flummoxed with utter joy. In fact there is enough gas in this little monster to power another couple of minutes so when the end comes it feels a tad premature. Look Down do seem to be making the sort of shapes lately that indicate that they?ll be releasing something new soon. KDLook Down - AmperfanRate This Tune!More Info: Official & MyspaceBuy Album: 24/7 Dance ForceYear: 2005

Schooner - They Always Do!
2007-06-13 21:02:00
Schooner?s Reid Johnson sings as if he is lying down. He gives off a none too bothered impression which just about fits in snugly with the slacker vibe that beams from the foursome that accompanies him. The Chapel Hill band are on their second album ?Hold On Too Tight? and ?They Always Do!? is a prime cut. It may harp back to a Beach Boy standard but ?They Always Do!? leaves the dual carriageway about half way through. The detour sees the band getting an attack of the I?m From Barcelona?s and we all end up holding hands and singing in unison. Not that I?m complaining because I?m all for music that you can embrace and be embraced for. With Schooner you just gotta drink it up and sail into the distance under a setting sun. KDSchooner - They Always Do!Rate This Tune!More Info: Official & MyspaceBuy Album: Hold On Too Tight Year: 2007
More About: Schooner

exmagician - Lightning Struck A Deal
2007-06-12 21:00:00
It might strike you as a novelty record but I?ve spent most of my day humming this tune from exmagician of Belfast. At the moment no one approaches James Smith?s sense of giddy adventure apart from maybe Jim Noir. A nose for producing something different is generally frowned upon in an indie scene that sees itself best served by a riff and a wry lyric but Smith is genuinely pushing the boundaries. The fact that he is currently labelless leaves him without the awkward finger wags from a bankrolling label and free to spin weird and wonderful colossuses like ?Lighting Struck A Deal ?. When he?s famous and riding limo?s with P Diddy he may reminisce on those heady days in 2007 when peachy ideas poured from him like blood from an extra in a Tarantino movie. This is another giant fluffy rabbit from an increasing bulging top hat. KDexmagician - Lightning Struck A DealRate This Tune!More Info: Official & MyspaceBuy Album: in the near futureYear: 2007
More About: Magician

Ef - Hello Scotland
2007-06-11 23:57:00
I spoke about this band over a year ago. The review was for a song of theirs called ?Ett?, and I more or less compared it to something Explosions In The Sky were capable of doing in their sleep. Looking back it was a little unfair because it is now quite obvious that Ef are actually a prospect to saviour. The evidence; well there is this absolute beauty from ?Give Me beauty...Or Give Me Death? that rightly joins the pantheon of post-rock greats like ?Helicon Part 1?, ?Your Hand In Mine? and ?Levez Vos Skinny Fists?. Hell it?s even got some words that are suitably given an alluring canvass by a carousing string. This is a play over several acts, each one as devastating as the next, you?ll laugh, you?ll cry, you may even go for a swim in the buff. 'Hello Scotland ' is an acute example of the power of music, dig in and get prepared for Ef?s next move in the autumn. KDEf - Hello ScotlandRate This Tune!More Info: Official & MyspaceBuy Album: Give me beauty...Or give me death Year: 2006

The Polyphonic Spree - Running Away
2007-06-11 20:55:00
With a lead man called Tim DeLaughter you weren?t expecting it to be doom and gloom now were you? The Dallas based collective (we?re talking 20 plus members here, and they seem to have ditched the white gear for a darker shade this time around) do have a terrific gift for capturing giant choral fireworks on record and new single ?Running Away ? is no exception. This?ll shift you from your slumber, it may even shift granddad for his favourite armchair, just be sure to stick on some Leonard Cohen straight afterwards, don?t want him thinking there are other things he needs to do before he croaks it. ?Running Away? is the sound of exuberance and in its own little way it is making the world a better place to live in. Prepare yourselves for a spree of polyphonic ringtones inspired by the bands 3rd album 'The Fragile Army' in the near future (released 19th June). KDThe Poly phonic Spree - Running AwayRate This Tune!Watch The VideoMore Info: Official & MyspaceBuy Album: [UK] The Fragile Arm...

Engine Alley - Song For Someone
2007-06-10 17:34:00
I often wonder how bands who existed before the internet might have fared if they had muscled in on the affections of the blogosphere. The trail of dead bands with potential to burn is long and disturbing. Kilkenny?s Engine Alley were one victim of a fickle world but indications are that they are going to give it one last go and perhaps snag a few bloggers along the way to boost their profile. Engine Alley features 2 siblings in Canice (vocals) and Brian Kenealy (guitars), Eamon Byrne (bass) and an army of rotating drummers. Their debut 'A Sonic Holiday' on U2's Mother Records label was released in 1992 and was produced by Steve Lillywhite. Ken Rice was responsible for the orchestral swirls, which polished what were already sweet pop thrills. ?Song For Some one? included the vocal charms of Emmaline Duffy-Fallon who was the drummer at the time but left before album number two came along. The gentle playing softly augments a lullaby that unfolds gently before your very ears. KDEngi...

Rasputina - Cage In A Cave
2007-06-10 10:07:00
Rasputina are an interesting proposition from Brooklyn who?ve been around since 1992. Melora Creager has been the one constant in a revolving cast of members. The band is characterised by their cello parts, which should appeal to those of the Joanna Newson and Regina Spektor (near identical vocally in my book) persuasion. Creager has travelled an interesting road having performed live with Nirvana on the In Utero tour. She has also spent some time with Ultra Vivid Scene, the Pixies and Belle & Sebastian so there is an interesting biography in her story (not least for her, somewhat ironic, obsessiveness to the memory of Howard Hughes to which I am myself afflicted). ?Oh Perilous World? is Rasputina's sixth album and is released later this month on Filthy Bonnet (!). The album was conceived as Creager scoured newspapers and the internet for inspiration, a move that saw her partly abandon her historical conceptualisation. ?Cage In A Cave ? is fresh and distinct, a welcome break from th...

Mumblin' Deaf Ro - What's To Be Done With El Salvador
2007-06-09 21:06:00
Villian Records is home to Richard Murphy of Michael Knight and Ronan Hession of Mumblin' Deaf Ro and is the type of label I generally fall for (I?m still pining for Dead Elvis Records after all these years). First time around I dismissed Mumblin' Deaf Ro for the wonders of Michael Knight?s debut but I am slowly becoming consumed by Ro?s second album ?The Herring and the Brine?. It has taken a bit of time as Hession?s voice is a curious cross-pollination of the vocal genes of Nick Drake and Kerry?s Christy Hennessy. Try not to let this put you off though as there is genuine sincerity in his delivery that makes the colourful themes all the more believable. Where else would you find subject matter of the likes of the tale of the exhausted novice priest or the murder of two sisters in rural Ireland? The music for its part is sparse and generally acoustic but somehow sounds much bigger than it actually is. ?What's To Be Done With El Salvador ? is wonderfully percussive and Hession rai...

The Bright Space - Wrongstar
2007-06-09 15:16:00
It seems London?s TBS flickered for the shortest time and then they were quenched. Well that?s the impression you get from their not-too-substantially-info-laden web spaces. It seems that James and Will haven?t let TBS going down the toilet put them off and have recently set up a new band called Janitor. Malcolm on the other hand has gone down the solo route (a route he repeatedly suggests he enjoys but somehow I?m not so sure). Tis? a shame really that TBS, the band, are no more because songs like ?Wrong star? and ?Open My Eyes? are pretty good indie fare. The guitars are tweaked to deliver maximum jangle and in doing so create the perfect platform for some impressive runaway chorus?s. Ah well, here?s to some bright new beginnings. KDThe Bright Space - WrongstarRate This Tune!The Bright Space - Open My EyesRate This Tune!Watch The Video To She GoesMore Info: Official & MyspaceBuy TBS Single: She GoesYear: 2006Get 25 FREE Music Downloads for your iPod® or any MP3 player!
More About: Pace

Primal Scream - Come Together
2007-06-09 01:37:00
For me Prim a l Scream started and ended with ?Screamadelica?. Perhaps it was the fact that it coincided with my college years but I?d put it in my top 3 albums. It was released on Creation Records in 1991 and saw the Glaswegian's drop their jangling noodles for a dance beat. Andrew Weatherall was responsible for the makeover but ?Screamadelica? wouldn't have succeeded were it not for the immaculate vocals of Denise Johnson, the menacing bass turn by Jah Wobble and Bobby Gillespie?s unmistakable way with a tune. Side one closed with an absolute epic that spliced a MLK speech with a creeping tide of swirling synths, giddy beats and a drum kick that?ll wipe out all your couch tendencies. In an album of unmitigated classics ?Come Together? just refuses to reveal a single weakness and unless you are shorn of a heartbeat you will be enthralled for 10 minutes. Primal Scream, know what I mean? KDPrimal Scream - Come TogetherRate This Tune!Watch The Video (pre Weatherall!)More Info: Officia...
More About: Cream

Strawberry Switchblade - Sunday Morning
2007-06-08 22:36:00
While it?s hard to post about Strawberry Switchblade without resorting to type and blathering about their magnificent one hit wonder ?Since Yesterday? I am going to persevere. The Glasgow duo of Rose McDowall and Jill Bryson may have disappeared by early 1986 but no 80?s retrospective would be complete without Bananarama?s darker and more interesting younger sisters. Their debut single ?Trees and Flowers? was an ode to Bryson?s agoraphobia (beats Robert De Niro I guess) and was produced by future KLF insaniac Bill Drummond. Also featured on the song was a budding songwriter by the name of Roddy Frame (Aztec Camera). ?Sunday Morning ? (Velvets cover) appeared on the ?Since Yesterday? 12-inch (not porn related kids) as a direct antidote to its lavishly designed a-side. While it lags in the comet trail of the original it is still a fragile piece of dream pop (they are the true predecessors of that scene) and not even the vinyl blemishes can disguise those wonderful voices. KDStrawberry...
More About: Sunday morning , Witchblade

The Shout Out Louds - Tonight I Have To Leave It
2007-06-08 20:30:00
Oh yippee, what a fantastic way to start the weekend with a new song from Sweden?s the Shout Out Loud ?s. This is the comeback we had all hoped they could make after their 2005 debut ?Howl Howl Gaff Gaff? hinted that something very good was afoot. The new album ?Our Ill Wills? won?t be released until September in the States but has already hit the shops in Europe. ?Toni ght I Have To Leave It? is a wonderful primer issuing splendid waves of exotic indie pop that reminds one of the Cure (the vocals are particularly Smith like). The band even sees fit to abandon Northern Europe for several seconds near the start as their focus shifts to warmer climes. The effect is beguiling and adds one more feather to a cap that should be all the rage in fashionable indie clubs the world over this summer. ?Our Ill Wills? was produced by the ubiquitous but consistently brilliant Björn Yttling (of ?Young Folks? fame?). KDThe Shout Out Louds - Tonight I Have To Leave ItRate This Tune!Watch The VideoMore ...

The Pale Saints - Throwing Back The Apple
2007-06-07 19:39:00
Despite only releasing 3 albums Leeds outfit the Pale Saints have left an enduring legacy. Formed at the peak of the dream pop and shoegaze scenes their debut ?The Comfort of Madness? was their undoubted peak but ?In Ribbons? its follow up was a near classic. Buoyed by the addition of ex-Lush singer Meriel Barham it opened in dramatic circumstances with single ?Throw ing Back The Apple ?. At this stage the Pale Saints had polished up their sound, in doing so they may have lost some of the charm and innocence of their debut but their songwriting remained stellar. ?Throwing Back The Apple? is endowed with impressive heavy-duty chords, Barham?s trademark cooing and a wonderous turn from vocalist Ian Masters who was to leave the band soon afterwards. This is classic stuff that should appeal to a new generation (as well as the marketing departments of all cider makers) seeking a portal into the sound of the early nineties. KDThe Pale Saints - Throwing Back The AppleRate This Tune!Watch The...

Should - Own Two Feet
2007-06-05 18:56:00
Beauty is in the ear of the beholder I guess because I may be alone in thinking Should?s ?One Two Feet ? is quite masterful. Dischordant, off-kilter and falling over the edge at every turn it is a gripping listen. Taken from the bands post-shoegaze 1995 album ?A Folding Sieve? it is actually a reworking of a song from Kiwi band the Jean Paul Sartre Experience. ?Sarah Missing? finds itself in much more familiar shoegaze territory but that doesn?t make it any less special. The boy/girl refrain and out of focus grandiose chords are just the tonic for fans of the scene that celebrated itself. Should (*2) have a new album out later this year on the increasingly influential Words on Music label. KDShould - Own Two FeetRate This Tune!Should - Sarah MissingRate This Tune!More Info: Official & MyspaceBuy Album: A Folding SieveYear: 1995 & 2002Get 25 FREE Music Downloads for your iPod® or any MP3 player!

Club 8 - Whatever You Want
2007-06-04 10:49:00
It?s been a while since a Labrador release has appeared here so without much ado this is the new single from Club 8. The duo have been around since the mid 90?s and are characterised by Karolina Komstedt?s dreamy vocals and the soft lilting acoustics that provide the velvet scaffolding (courtesy of Johan Angergård). ?Whatever You Want? is very impressive, a perfect summer release that is easy on the ear but also stands up perfectly to repeated exposure. As if to seal the deal 2007?s most huggable piece of whistling appears about midway in, waltzing in time with Komstedt?s dah dah do?s. Also included is an old one from the band called ?Spring Came, Rain Fell? which is typically as comforting as the news that Club 8 have a new album out this summer. KDClub 8 - Whatever You WantRate This Tune!Club 8 - Spring Came, Rain FellRate This Tune!Watch The Video To Missing YouMore Info: Official & MyspaceBuy Club 8 Albums: HereYear: 2007Get 25 FREE Music Downloads for your iPod® or any MP3 player!

Echoboy - Automatic Eyes
2007-06-03 21:18:00
Richard Warren?s (Echoboy) ?Giraffe? came like a bolt from the blue. Sure he?d been part of the Hybrids but it was such a delight to find an unfamiliar artist fully formed and so perfectly primed to thrill. And that?s what 2002?s ?Giraffe? was, a windswept electronic masterpiece that recalled dubnobasswithmyheadman era Underworld and elements of Space?s dancier efforts. At the time Warren had been in talks with Noel Gallagher to join Oasis but the Nottingham based artist wisely decided against it. Instead he set his sights on a more inventive brand of guitars and synths and with producer Flood he arrived at a very successful formula. Opener ?Automatic Eyes ? is perhaps the strongest track as evidenced by it fluid momentum and Warren?s zombie affected vocals that somehow managed to be warm and affecting. KDEchoboy - Automatic EyesRate This Tune!Watch The Video To Kit and HollyMore Info: Official & MyspaceBuy Album: [UK] Giraffe [US] GiraffeYear: 2002Get 25 FREE Music Downloads for yo...

A Is Jump - Peeling Space
2007-06-03 11:18:00
A Is Jump are one of those bands that don?t seem to have much of a web presence. Perhaps this is the way they want it but a casual search reveals little in the way of reviews, write ups or gig information. Thankfully myspace threw up a profile and a link to their label Future Appletree. It seems the North Carolina outfit are recording a follow up to their 2004 ?My Ice-Fingered Ghost? album which featured the bundle of joy that is ?Peeling Space ?. This is indie pop with a rough edge, the clever blemishes only succeed to highlight how good the harmonies are. Self-contained specs of gold like this normally fit tidily on mixtapes you are completing in a sneaky attempt to snag the girl. KDA Is Jump - Peeling SpaceRate This Tune!More Info: Official & MyspaceBuy Album: The Ice-Fingered Ghost Year: 2004Get 25 FREE Music Downloads for your iPod® or any MP3 player!
More About: Pace

Fight Like Apes - Lend Me Your Face
2007-06-02 13:36:00
The States have had their Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, the English their Arctic Monkeys so isn?t it about time the emerald one had its very own blogger endorsed sensation. So far Fight Like Apes have received quite a bit of bandwidth from assorted green-backed sources (hurry along there Matt!) so I better join the fray. They are signed to the Frank & Walters label Fifa Records (how did they get away with that monikor, Blatter will be on their doorstep soon) from which their debut EP will flow quite soon even if they remain unlisted as of yet at Fifa headquarters. Led by the shouty Maykay and assorted blokes Fight Like Apes are an interesting proposition, like the Go! Team were they to lend their vocalists more airtime. ?Lend Me Your Face ?, quite apart from being title of the year, is a spunky piece of ear candy that reminds one of Bis in their prime. All told Fight Like Apes are a much-needed swill of peppermint mouthwash in a somewhat staid local music scene. The least you can do is l...

Park Hotell - Size Of Spain
2007-06-02 10:15:00
Just right now Peter, Bjorn and John are about as popular a Swedish proposition in Ireland as ABBA. Their gigs have become more and more frequent and each visit sees the crowd swelling. We?ve a lot to thank them for, not least for their ace album ?Writer?s Block? from last year. Now Bjorn Yttling has gone and produced a double EP from a new band called Park Hotell. The EP is called ?The Guest Who Stayed Forever? and just right now it?s stopping me from leaving the house. Park Hotell have seen fit to add a nice dollop of variety to the EP as evidenced by the 2 tracks below. ?Low On Resistance? is the main single and turns out to be a spangly retro heeled ditty after initially giving Beth Ditto a reminder of her achievements to date. ?Size of Spain ? mines a more traditional indie template which will always find a receptive ear on these pages. All told these are some young folks with potentially a lot hearts to melt. KDPark Hotell - Low On ResistanceRate This Tune!Park Hotell - Size O...
More About: Tell

The Whip - Frustration
2007-06-02 09:01:00
You?ll probably feel that you?ve heard this one a thousand times before, especially if you have some Substance (if you know what I mean) in your collection. Yep, it is totally derivative of New Order but you can?t but applaud the pristine application. In fact why not for once stop looking back to ?Ceremony?, ?Temptation? and ?State of the Nation? for your kicks and instead give ?Frustration ? a go. Of course it helps that the Whip are Mancs and that they have the wherewithal to put on a great show. The uneven beat patterns are attractively familiar from the off and even though Bruce Carter and Danny Saville don?t really bother with a chorus the piece is so lovingly crafted it?s hard to be critical. This was the first in a series of singles from the duo and later efforts have revealed a gradual widening of their influences. KDThe Whip - FrustrationRate This Tune!More Info: Official & MyspaceWhip It Up With: Kitsun Maison Vol 4 (which includes the Whip's current single 'Divebomb')Ye...
More About: Stra , Rust

Montag - Going Places
2007-06-01 23:48:00
There was a time when Canada could do no wrong. It seemed that with each passing week there was another new exciting act to discover. Times have been less dramatic of late but there are signs of a mini revival. First Caribou dropped a brilliant new album called ?Andorra? and now Vancouver based Montag (aka Antoine Bédard) is making similarly inspiring electronic noises on his third album ?Going Places ?. Not that Montag should be a total stranger as he has already twisted ?Set Yourself On Fire? by Stars for their remix album. ?Going Places ? was created with the help some notable collaborators including M83, Au Revoir Simone, Amy Millan and Beach House and was lovingly put together in Montag?s home studio. So far, so interesting and thankfully the music entirely lives up to the billing. The album's title track was imaginatively conceived from the collective imaginations of over 70 interweb dreamers. From such complexity seeps sonic gold as ?Going Places? slowly morphs into an utterly...
More About: Lace

Jigsaw - Sky High
2007-06-01 20:58:00
A casual cup of tea in an awful canteen at work is all it took to brighten up my day. Nothing to do with the leaves though, more to do with this chipper piece of pop that fell from a broken down stereo on a cobwebbed fridge. Yeah it has a Charlie's Angels feel about it but the production is superbly rich and animated. ?Sky High ? was one of Jigsaw ?s major hits from the mid 1970?s, helped in no small way by being featured on George Lazenby?s ?The Man From Hong Kong? movie. Nothing beats a good chorus and ?Sky High? is endowed with one of the best. It's aided by a distinct disco beat that should will also ensure it has a ready audience for the discerning wedding DJ for decades to come. Funny how a man with such frog eyed glasses could produce something so far sighted. KDJigsaw - Sky HighRate This Tune!Watch The VideoMore Info: JigsawBuy Album: [UK] Sky High [US] The Best Of Jig Saw: Sky HighYear: 1975Get 25 FREE Music Downloads for your iPod® or any MP3 player!

Wilderness - Your Hands
2007-06-01 00:35:00
It was a toss up this evening between the straight-ahead indie pop noise of Mumm-Ra or the bedazzled incomprehendability of Wilde rness . In the end I plumped for the rough road, sometimes it?s better to take a bite into something that offers a bit more resistance and in Wilderness?s case your ears shall not pass. These wild experimentalists are signed to the Jagjaguwar label and have 2 albums under their belts. James Johnson really reminds me of Liam Maher from baggy legends Flowered Up, not accent wise but in the way he fires his words skywards in a wicked attempt to reach as many people as possible. But there is more to the band than the lead man?s vocal thrusts, in fact on ?Your Hand s ? the guitar parts have their own unique story to recount. Their fiery demeanour is a joy from start to finish, towards the end in fact they become a thing of jagged beauty. KDWilderness - Your HandsRate This Tune!More Info: OfficialBuy Album: Wilderness Year: 2005Get 25 FREE Music Downloads for your ...
More About: Derne

Videohippos - Bear Fight
2007-05-30 21:33:00
Remember I talked about ?Person Pitch? and ?Scribble Mural Comic Journal? being the most wilfully obscure yet satisfying albums of the year. Well, I should have pointed out that Baltimore?s Videohippos ?Unbeast The Leash? is another one to lump into this dishy set of experimental wonders. You see this duo have the capacity to pound sweet notes like they are going out of fashion without ever giving anything away through the use of nonsensical word chains. Sure they chirp and bounce vocal taunts in your general direction but they are limited to getting to the heart of the matter through a condensed sound that never overwhelms yet so utterly consumes. The best example comes by way of ?Lazer Jet?, a frantic exhibition of light and sound that shall be cherished on these very pages in our Top 42 of 2007. In the meantime here is something almost as devastating, it?s called ?Bear Fight ? and it?s got teeth. Not every Hippo has that said about them you know. KDVideohippos - Bear FightRate Thi...
More About: Hippos

Microdisney - Town To Town
2007-05-30 20:32:00
While Microdisney were a little before my time and Cathal Coughlan and his Fatima Mansions were just too aggressive to be palatable there is no doubting the beauty of ?Town To Town?. Must have been his Coughlan's mate Sean O?Hagan?s (Stereolab and his own High Llamas) west coast leanings that supplied a bona fide chorus to sing along to. That and a video that was made for tuppence meant that it could only have been come out of 2 lads from emigration ravaged 1980?s Ireland (Cork to be precise). And despite the sucrose melody the theme of the tune revolved around a nuclear war, something to think about as you sing along on your dozen rerun this evening. KDMicrodisney - Town To TownRate This Tune!More Info: Official & MyspaceBuy Album: [UK] Big Sleeping House: a Collection of Choice Cuts [US] Big Sleeping House Year: 1987Get 25 FREE Music Downloads for your iPod® or any MP3 player!

Sir Salvatore - Ambalina
2007-05-29 21:22:00
Sir Salvatore are a new band from San Francisco who should appeal to all those who like their music garnished with jangling chords. They've already released an EP called 'Those Men Are Not Astronauts' and like all far thinking sorts have let a couple of tracks slip to the blogging community. Such a gesture would probably be worthless if the music wasn?t up to scratch but Sir Salvatore?s tentative steps have the makings of something big. EP number 2 is already in pre production and ?Ambalina? is one of its tracks. Taking its inspiration from such luminaries as Rocketship and Apples in Stereo it is a cherishable piece of indie pop that produces aural highs from an array of soft twinkling chords. If Sir Salvatore can keep up this pace then the blogging nerds won?t be only ones with silly grins. KDSir Salvatore - AmbalinaRate This Tune!Watch The Video To Hooray This ProjectorMore Info: Official & MyspaceBuy: Those Men Are Not Astronauts EP Year: 2007Get 25 FREE Music Downloads for yo...

Normandy - Her Eyes Don't Water
2007-05-28 20:52:00
Normandy are a New York based quintet in a search of the perfect indie pop thrill. Their new ?Time I?ve Wasted? EP is their first attempt at capturing the holy grail and while they still have a bit to go there is every reason to expect that Normandy will one day be wrestling the initiative from James Mercer and co. Their EP boasts 4 strong tracks with ?Her Eyes Don?t Water ? and ?Kentucky Isolation? (Gabi's backing vocals add a neat dimension) taking home the laurels for most fulfilling tracks. Normandy have geeky charm in spades which should see them appealing to the Weezer set as well as the aforementioned Shins. But, outside of all the inevitable comparisons you can?t get away from the fact that Vincent Dee?s gang write tunes built for joyous occasions crying out for an upbeat soundtrack. KDNormandy - Her Eyes Don't WaterRate This Tune!More Info: Official & MyspaceBuy The EP: at the Cake Shop Year: 2007Get 25 FREE Music Downloads for your iPod® or any MP3 player!
More About: Normandy , Mandy , Norman

Sopho Khalvashi - Visionary Dream
2007-05-22 21:34:00
Sometimes good music turns up in the last place you?d expect to find it. A couple of weeks ago exhaustion meant that all that we could muster on a Saturday night was the Eurovision song contest. It is dreadful as much for the music as the deepening kitsch virus it has been afflicted with since birth. But for heavy brain cells it is a nonetheless rip roaring vacation. No ?My Lovely Horse? this year but the Georgian entry did catch our fancy. Sopho Khalvashi on the night was as sensational as her red attire and her Bjorkisms meant that some alternative musical nodes were titillated briefly. Semi-dance, semi-eastern European textures add up to a fairly enjoyable diversion ? at least until the tin foil clad Ukrainian entry comes on. KDSopho Khalvashi - Visi onary Dream Rate This Tune!Watch The VideoMore Info: Official & MyspaceYear: 2007Get 25 FREE Music Downloads for your iPod® or any MP3 player!
More About: Vision , Visio

The E.L.F. - Cockroaches
2007-05-11 11:40:00
Funny this, only talking about Gerling in the last week and suddenly a new song from one third of the band bursts forth. Darren Cross is responsible and his ?Cock roaches? tune already taken to the blogosphere like a creeping plague of shuffling sound. And boy does it swell my head with happy thoughts as it cutely mixes parts of Bentleys Rhythm Ace, Space and Cornershop with a tasty Gerling stew. This is the thinking kids JCB song that?ll have no bother burrowing its jolly swing into the imaginations of all the apple gurls and boyz that get to hear it. The summer officially starts here. KDThe E.L.F. - CockroachesWatch The VideoMore Info: Official & MyspaceBuy Album: soon.... Year: 2007Get 25 FREE Music Downloads for your iPod® or any MP3 player!
More About: Roach

Malajube - Montreal -40°C
2007-03-20 22:07:00
We already had a bit of Gaeilge this week so why not a bit of French too from the Mont real collective Mala jube . I was put off this band for the longest time due to their name, without hearing a note I had dismissed them. I was saved by one of the greatest gifts afforded by the MediaMonkey mp3 player, that being the auto DJ facility wherein the fabulous Gallic thrills of ‘Montreal –40C’ hoved
More About: Real