‘Neon Golden’ saw the Notwist flip 180 degrees from their original hardcore beginnings. The album presented a band with a firm grasp on electronica, a genre that continued to raise the bar in the early noughties. While not exactly coffee table this was music to fill the coolest saloons in town. Markus Archers softly spoken vocals are instantly welcome while the digitals displayed a desire to fly off in off-kilter directions. That the album took 15 months to record says a lot about attention to detail that was put in. ‘Pick Up The Phone’ was the lead single and showed exactly how the Notwist had carved out a unique sound for themselves. It plays like battered vinyl with creaky fits and starts and a haunting digital panpipe creates an eerie background. Archers voice comes into its own at the chorus, his German accent undetectable amongst the rabble beats. Cool, suave and about to steal your heart. KD

The Notwist - Pick Up The Phone

Album: Neon Golden
Year: 2003
Buy: Neon Golden

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Ye grand auld tradition of not featuring the same artist twice on this site was ripped to shreds once the news that our heroes Grandaddy decided to throw in the towel. A crisis meeting in December seemed to uncover grievances that couldn’t sustain the Modesto band. One such was that despite supplying the world with endless heartfelt ditties their seemed to be precious little money floating in their direction. Perhaps it was the beards or maybe it was the fact that the band was more concerned with perfecting their art rather than courting the media. ‘Everything Beautiful Is Far Away’ is quintessential Grandaddy, hopelessly romantic with a ragged ability to hit a fluid euphony at will. Their disposition to ruffle a song with idiosyncrasies is also evident as the piece shudders to a chaotic halt. Beneath the chaos lies the perfect Valentines song ever recorded, a fact that was probably lost on most because it lacked a well-trodden sequence. At least we can look forward to the last hurrah when the bands parting shot ‘Just Like The Fambly Cat’ is released. With that Jason Lytle will embark on a solo career far away from home (Montana) so let’s hope his aim remains trained toward the sky. KD

Grandaddy - Everything Beautiful Is Far Away

Album: Under The Western Freeway
Year: 1997
Buy: Under the Western Freeway

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Like much of Ambulance LTD’s effortlessly cool eponymous debut album ‘Heavy Lifting’ mixes delicate harmonies, shuffling beats and affecting chord changes into an intoxicating mix. Just because you come from New York doesn’t guarantee that you have your finger on the pulse but Ambulance LTD perfectly blend their shoegaze influences with a noughties sensibility. So you’re are not going to be blown away by the originality of it all but Ambulance LTD create a sound that rarely falters and often moves. This is old skool indiepop, intelligent and crafted so skilfully that Marcus Congelton’s voice need only ride the good vibes to be effective. Looks like Song to the Siren has been rewritten all over again! KD

Ambulance LTD - Heavy Lifting

Album: LP
Year: 2004
Buy: LP

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If anything is going to cement your star in the walk of fame of naff, it's having one of your songs ('Jessica') used as the theme tune to 'Top Gear'. The Allman Brothers Band, purveyors of blues-rinsed AOR, often hit the sweet spot on their lighter, country-tinged songs. 'Blue Sky' is a Sunday spin of Americana: a tuneful hook-filled verse and refrain frame a three-minute two-chord single-string guitar solo – not a million miles from, say, the extended riffing at the end of the Velvets' 'Oh Sweet Nuthin''. It could belong on the soundtrack to some cult 70's road movie – Easy Rider or Vanishing Point, for example – just as easily as it could lie dormant as some filler on a four disc Drive Time anthology. TK

The Allman Brothers Band - Blue Sky

Album: Eat A Peach
Year: 1972
Buy: Eat a Peach

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One of the brighter moments in the overrated ‘Ocean's 11’ occurred during the credit roll when David Holmes imperious ’69 Police’ snaked into view. Originally appearing on the ‘Bow Down To The Exit Sign’ album it marked Holmes out as a force to be reckoned with. The Belfast native seemingly endless appetite for sampling forgotten gems gives his music the edge, yet ‘69 Police’ is unquestionably a work of true originality. Based around a circular organic foray it is instantly digestible yet alluring enough to warrant repeated visits. Taking ‘Fade To Gray’s polished lead it begins its sortie with a French voice before descending into a hallucinogenic ride that throws a kitchen sink worth of keyboard wizardry in the general direction of the listener. Despite these electronic distractions the solid core melody is what is so enticing and what’ll have you trying moves that may do your back in. KD

David Holmes - 69 Police

Album: Bow Down To The Exit Sign
Year: 2000
Buy: Bow Down to the Exit Sign

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Carlow band the Floors are perhaps best remembered for their novelty hit ‘Jesus Lived Six Years Longer Than Kurt Cobain’ but it was the seething anger on their borrowed collaboration with Lydia Lunch that is the stand out from their debut album ‘Superbe’. Lunch exposes are a vivid illustration of invective and her exhilarating monologue on ‘No Excuses’ is both disturbing and an extreme take on the Riot Grrls genre. The Floors somehow conspire to match the raw material with a blustering soundtrack. The booming bass and Velvet Underground chord scratches are aided and abetted by Ger Farrell’s thumping drums. The Floors songwriter Dave Donohue can hold his head up high in achieving what could have been seen as an impossible task. There ain’t many tunes about like this one, so batten down the hatches and hopefully see you on the other side. KD

The Floors - No Excuses

Album: Superbe
Year: 1996
Buy: Superbe

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If you fancy a bit of Bjork thrown into several layers of My Bloody Valentine guitar theatrics then ‘Kevin Is Gay’ could be what you are looking for. Annie Hardy sure has that angry indie gal tag even if her mutterings can be as vague as a toddler learning to speak. ‘Kevin Is Gay’ starts and finishes with a decidedly scary volley of poltergeist emissions but in between the sluggish shoegaze chords and Hardy’s understated vocals generate pangs of desire for the early nineties. When a band creates a noise akin to the inside of an airplanes fuselage you’d expect several hitters so it comes as a bit of a surprise that Giant Drag has only 2 members. No sparse White Stripes numbers here though, Hardy and drummer Micah Calabrese create a wholesome sound that’ll fill your head with consummate ease. KD

Giant Drag - Kevin Is Gay

Album: Hearts & Unicorns
Year: 2005
Buy: Hearts & Unicorns

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Here is a Toronto group to watch out for. I came across this song while rummaging around an open dir and it immediately reminded me of a Rolling Stones/Rocket Science hybrid. I’m a sucker for lazy, drawn out keyboards and ‘Old World, Young Heart’ has them in spades. Singer Thom Paulozza pours sackfuls worth of emotions into his performance while the guitars skate purposefully around the maelstrom. The drumming is aggravated to the point where you can picture the tiny wood splinters dotting the walls of the studio. There is something creepy going on here, like a prowler in the night. The bands debut ‘The Great Awake’ EP is on its way later in the year and if this demo is anything to go by Canada may have just given us another precious new band. See http://thegreatawake.com for more information and songs to download. KD

The Great Awake - Old World Young Heart

Album: The Great Awake EP
Year: 2006

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The Caesars fate was sealed, the very moment it was decided to use their ‘Jerk It Out’ song for an iPod ad they were guaranteed the best exposure known to marketing man. Sadly beyond this farfiso organ propelled effort it seemed there was little to titillate curious fans inspecting their back catalogue. Or so you’d think! ‘Sort It Out’ is another power hungry monster from the Swedish band, and even boasts a longer shelf life than their breakthrough single. This time the emphasis is very much on the guitar escapades and a demon vocal performance that begs for the sort inebriated weekend that could floor most humans. Of course the electronics do make an appearance neatly splicing the rush of chords on their memorable rampage. File under ‘watch the dancefloor become a heaving sweaty mass’. KD

The Caesars - Sort It Out

Album: 39 Minutes of Bliss (in An Otherwise Meaningless World)
Year: 2003
Buy: 39 Minutes of Bliss (in An Otherwise Meaningless World)

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While nothing can quite surpass Gene Wilder’s version of 'Pure Imagination' the Ataris make a valiant stab at breathing indie cool into what is movie soundtrack classic. 'Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory' is one of the best films ever made, not least because of the wonderful music contained within. It outscores the recent update in every department, how could a film with such a wonderful heart ever be bettered anyway? The Ataris coax some great riffs from the raw material, infusing a new lease of life into what is really a lullaby. In the process the songs structure is turned on its head, without ever losing the qualities that made it such a winning treat in the first place. Kris Roe’s nasal whine fits the bill perfectly and the slightly ill timed drumming conveys a strange world where tiny men supply the world with multishaped chocolate. KD

The Ataris - Pure Imagination

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This is an all time classic from 1995. The Apples In Stereo are always capable of coming up with undisputed gems but their inconsistency has been their undoing. Taken from the bands debut ‘Fun Trick Noisemaker’ ‘She’s Just Like Me’ set the benchmark for tweepop wonderfulness. The lyrics don’t give a lot away but why should innocence pretend to be something its not. Rob Schneider voice can be a little cloying over a full album but taken in moderation it is heart warming and uplifting. For their part his band present the jingliest of guitars possible that add up to something this is as treasurable as a puppy and twice as cute. The song has a tale end too called ‘Taking Time’ which while not as memorable as its predecessor still stokes the cockles of your heart. KD

The Apples In Stereo - She's Just Like Me

Album: Fun Trick Noisemaker
Year: 1995
Buy: Fun Trick Noisemaker

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Perennial underachievers Nada Surf can always be depended on to turn heads every couple of years. It happened to dazzling effect when ‘Popular’ became a geek anthem in the mid nineties. Since then the band have honed their craft and released progressively better long players. So much so that their artistic merit has overtaken what is offered by their contemporaries Weezer. Couldn’t imagine Rivers ever coming up with something as spectral as ‘Hyperactive’, which hits so many frantic highs, just listening to it can make you shudder. This is a song that plays like 4-minute chorus; Matthew Caws bends his voice to capture the sweet contours while the rhythm section sets a Ned’s Atomic Dustbin like lightening pace. Guitars twang menacingly and the drummer plays until the veins break to the surface. Aural heroin then, the only side effect being the repeated cries from downstairs neighbours to borrow the enchanted grooves. KD

Nada Surf - Hyperspace

Album: The Proximity Effect
Year: 1998
Buy: The Proximity Effect

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They may have been just another female fronted band but Sleeper’s music only told half the story. In Louise Wener the band had a bolshie spokesperson unafraid to warble on about the topic of the hour. While this guaranteed plenty of column inches in Melody Maker for a brief time their music also made an impression. ‘Smart’ their debut was a mixed affair but it was speckled with some genuine moments like ‘Inbetweener’, ‘What Do I Do Now’ and ‘Vegas’. The latter was one of a host of singles released from the album and featured Graham Coxon on saxophone. It begins all vaudeville like before quickly returning to indiepop type. Wener’s vocals are charismatic as the tempo zig-zags from soulful reflection to final wipe out which features a descending volley of marching chords. The song tells the story of a desperado willing to throw it all away for a brief sojourn on the rip in Las Vegas. Despite the minor chart successes scored with ‘Smart’ the follow up ‘The It Girl’ failed to build on the momentum and Sleeper disbanded in 1998. Wener has since gone on to become a successful author. KD

Sleeper - Vegas

Album: Smart
Year: 1995
Buy: Smart

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Ethereal is about as apt a word you'll get to describe the Plague Monkeys. Take singer Carol Keogh who sounds equal parts Liz Fraser/Dolores O’ Riordan and add in an equally capable band who invent chords at will to hang majestically in the air like a glider and the result is the aural equivalent of whipped cream. Somewhat inevitably the trick wears thin after a number of tunes but taken in moderation the effect can be truly exhilarating. This Irish band have habited the fringes for several years, all they need is a director with an ear for moody atmospherics and the world could yet be their oyster. The vocals on ‘White Feathers’ are soft yet powerful and the guitar ambles advance and retract with a regularity that is close to hypnotic. It will probably flit in and out of your life with undue haste but the time you spend together will be icy cool. KD

The Plague Monkeys - White Feathers

Album: Surface Tension
Year: 1999
Buy: Surface Tension

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Try and peruse the Unbelievable Truth’s website (http://www.unbelievable-truth.com) and you won’t learn a jot as it seems the memories held aren’t the best. Perhaps the root of the bands rise and fall lay in the fact that the chief songwriter was none other than Andy Yorke, brother of Radiohead frontman Thom. Comparisons were always going to ensue and while the 2 bands share a gift for precocious songwriting there is no definable bridge to link the siblings output. The Unbelievable Truth were always an enticing prospect in their own right and their debut ‘Almost Here’ was a quiet revelation. The singles it spawned were universally strong which is always a good indicator of scope of talent at work. ‘Solved’ boasted several strong b-sides with ‘Yesterday Never Leaves’ being the prize catch. Understated acousticism rarely sounds this good, Yorke’s vocals are touching and the delicate strings add up to what could be a perfect shifty disco. Put this aside for quite reflection, as you attempt to figure why the best things in life often go unnoticed. KD

The Unbelievable Truth - Yesterday Never Leaves

Album: Solved EP
Year: 1998
Buy: Solved

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If you are going to model your artistic ambitions on someone then it makes sense that you choose the best. Jellyfish practised at the altar of Beatledom and ended up leaving us with a near bounty of wonderful moments. None more so than ‘The King Is Half Undressed’ a song with more directions than a GPS navigation system. The clatter and sparks that rush about are beautiful realised, drums shudder, bells toll, voices harmonise and the tune scuttles from one glorious peak to the next. Too bad then that the band only scored minor success and ended up splitting after 2 critically lauded albums. Surely here was a band that could have become the thinking mans ELO. KD

Jellyfish - The King Is Half Undressed

Album: Bellybutton
Year: 1990
Buy: Bellybutton

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Boston’s Drop Nineteens looked east for their inspiration, namely the UK’s burgeoning Shoegaze genre that produced a plethora of bands who were low on conversation but high on blissed out chord dalliances (Ride, My Bloody Valentine, Swervedriver). ‘Winona’ is their most notable achievement, featuring a precocious mix of dense guitars and distant yet affecting vocals. Being the rock chick that she was Ms Ryder probably would have given it an admiring glance at the time. The video had the Drop Nineteens perched around a summer table engaged in childlike adventures with their food. While this may sound mawkish it worked perfectly in the context of the searing histrionics going on in the background. The song still sounds effective 14 years on, of its time but saddling nicely up alongside today’s version South Ambulance. KD

The Drop Nineteens - Winona

Album: Delaware
Year: 1992
Buy: Delaware

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Despite the fact that electronic purveyors (& brothers) Orbital were named after a road the duo were capable of instantly weaving a rich landscape of sound. Live, they stood imperious on stage bobbing as the headlights from their head garments swung in time with the rich tapestry emanating from the banks of electronic gizmos in front of them. Their early albums continually provided swansongs that took on an epic slant pushing the boundaries of electronica in a swirl of hazy melody. Check out ‘Belfast’ and ‘Out There Somewhere? Pt. 2’ for an acid trip through space to remember. ‘Attached’ is on a different plane altogether, an ambient masterpiece that if it had been about in the late seventies could have given Spielberg an even more fitting soundtrack to the finale of Close Encounters. Otherworldly and diverse it is underpinned by a beat that just falls just short of danceable. Any chill out album without it is sorely lacking. KD

Orbital - Attached

Album: Snivilisation
Year: 1994
Buy: Snivilisation

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In the world of glorious failures surely none was as stark as the story of English band Furniture. With the world seemingly at their feet after breaking the Top 20 with the ‘Brilliant Mind’ single their label Stiff Records became a corpse. At this stage 30,000 copies of the bands ‘The Wrong People’ lp had been pressed but with the label rapidly crumbling the record was promptly deleted. Due to legal wrangling that followed the band were unable to take up on offers from potential suitors and the initiative was slowly lost. An acclaimed ‘Best Of’ was released in 1991 (‘She Gets Out The Scrapbook’) highlighting what the world had lost. ‘Brilliant Mind’ appeared on the soundtrack to John Hughes bratpack feature ‘Some Kind Of Wonderful’ and remains a visceral piece of 1980’s pop. Jim Irvin’s voice has that laconic Ian McCulloch style, the bass lines punch like Peter Hook is in control and the percussion is so fabulously loose and freewheeling is easy to see how drummer Hamilton Lee went on to found Transglobal Underground. ‘Brilliant Mind’ is a seminal piece of music, something that must fill Irvin with pride as he sits down to write another review for Mojo Magazine. KD

Furniture - Brilliant Mind

Watch The Video

Album: The Wrong People
Year: 1986

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Yet another fab song from Canada. The Dears come from Montreal and have been on the go since 1995. Their third album is called ‘No Cities Left’ and this is a delicious slice of pop taken from it. Murray Lightburn may have Morrissey strapped to his larynx but that seems irrelevant when the chaotic beauty that surrounds them is so intoxicating. The searing chords are an ideal counterfoil for Lightburn’s straight ahead delivery. Things take a change of direction mid way through, where a shimmering percussion can’t hide the fact that Britpop is still bringing classics to the table. The vocals deliver menace and sober loveliness in equal doses creating a package of delights for your tapped out feet. KD

The Dears - Lost In The Plot

Album: No Cities Left
Year: 2005
Buy: No Cities Left

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With a voice that sounds like it has endured too many smoky bars it comes a bit of a surprise to learn that Willy Mason has only just turned 20. With a tasty debut album behind him it appears as if the Martha’s Vineyard native may be on the verge of breaking into the big time. The title track is an understated gem, with its wallowing shuffle, plaintiff viola, dreamy glockenspiel and Mason’s solid husky vocals whisking you off to a deserted paradise. It is one of a clutch of likely singles that while not exactly chart friendly have the power to catch fire with the correct marketing push. Mason lyrics are also ear catching, not afraid to speak his mind in time he could become a rare muse on the indie scene. Rumours that certain record shops will only sell the album to you if you supply a special handshake are hopefully wide of the mark. KD

Willy Mason - Where The Humans Eat

Album: Where The Humans Eat
Year: 2005
Buy: Where the Humans Eat

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Hemstad are a multi-piece collective from Gothenburg with designs on restoring the hammond to it rightful place among pop’s elite tools. While they may be partial to inebriation the bands rollercoaster vistas are anything but messy, delving into the corners of your being that you thought only the Go! Team could reach. They’ve already supported Architecture In Helsinki (in Stockholm, if ya get my drift) so you can guess the arena they occupy. Kaserntorgets Charkdisco shudders under a frenetic drum fanfare, rabid synth transmissions and a cute guitar riff adding up to a quirky noisefest that’ll have your dad looking enviously over his newspaper. If all this wasn’t enough they have a member whose sole purpose is to clap his hands, I guess Bez couldn’t have it all his own way. I’m not twistin’ your melon man, this band must be cherished. KD

Hemstad - Kaserntorgets Charkdisco

Album: The Hemstad Demo
Year: 2005
Read More: Official Hemstad Site


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If you like your groups to be a bit super then Brakes could well be your favourite new band. Made up of several splinters from British Sea Power, the Electric Soft Parade and Tenderfoot they make the sort of short sharp tunes that can't help infesting your head. As well as a couple of inspired covers their debut album 'Give Blood' draws in a variety of influences and spits them out in a dazzling new guise. ‘You’re So Pretty’ is the perfect vehicle for Eamon Hamilton’s chubbily romantic vocals. The playing is as soft as bubblewrap enabling tiny expressions of perfect pop to be released at regular intervals. Put your foot to the metal and take your tractor to the local record store. KD

Brakes - You're So Pretty

Album: Give Blood
Year: 2005
Buy: Give Blood

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You can now buy this song and the rest of the album on our record label Indiecater Records here!

At this stage it would seem that the game is up for the Brilliant Trees as they stand ignored outside their own borough. There is nothing surreptitious about the way the Dubliners forged an identity for themselves. All it takes is a couple seconds in their company to recognise what they are about. Alan Hoey sounds all the world like Damon Albarn and his band consistently uncover golden mounds of jangling guitars. Listening to their debut it’s hard to believe their honeycombed melodies didn’t twig as much as a flicker of interest. This was a band with a heart that cared about their native city and had enough material up their sleeve to keep football supporters in anthems for decades. As a live prospect they were even more devastating as tumbling rows of chords ably back up Hoey’s avalanche of words. ‘Don’t Believe The Right’ starts out oddly enough with someone messing with a radio dial until it opens up into a colourful garden of noise. This is indisputably happy music that could churn your world into a kaleidoscope snapshot of Wonka’s chocolate room. KD

The Brilliant Trees - Don't Believe The Right

Album: Friday Night
Year: 1996
Buy: the Brilliant Trees second album Wake Up & Dream

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I somehow missed the Husker Du boat, only tuning in to the world of Bob Mould when his other band Sugar took off. I will be doing the Du before too long, however, as they're down in the growing list of bands to discover. 'Copper Blue' was Sugar's debut album and boasted some great moments such as 'If I Can't Change Your Mind', which was played to death on MTV as a soundtrack to its 'Real World' show. 'A Good Idea' is another highlight and it remains the most note perfect homage to the Pixies in existence. Listening to it you can't help romanticising on its alter ego 'Debaser'. Witness the huge bassline that must have required a 10-foot high instrument and the grand wipe out that sees the tune shuttling wildly in disparate directions while still retaining a graceful finesse. Mould spews the inane words with the vibrancy of Mr. Black and all that's left is for you to pogo on the spot. This is unadulterated indiepop heaven, without the saccharine, that has lost none of its potency more than a decade after its release. KD

Sugar - A Good Idea

Album: Copper Blue
Year: 1992
Buy: Copper Blue

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The list of famous bands from Hull just goes on and on. I mean, first there was the Housemartins, then there was the Beautiful South and finally we got Fatboy Slim. Ok, maybe it’s not a hotbed after all yet beneath the surface there is possibly a vibrant scene to be uncovered. Take Salako for example, who over the years have supplied a fabulous array of quirky classics that have mostly gone unnoticed. How about their ‘Musicality’ album as a glorious example of how to present shambolic pop that veers and swerve’s through an endless supply of ideas. One minute you’re swaying to a gospel choir, the next you are wondering whether somebody has dropped an acid tab in your tea. There are precious moments aplenty, no more so than ‘Devil’s Feet Lullaby’ that comes complete with hippy vibes. Flutes flutter by at will, the guitarist wistfully appropriates lithe sounds from his instrument and a vocal akin to a feather slowly pirouetting back down to earth all adds up to a sumptuous aural experience that’ll have you looking left and right as you try to mask your inner glee. KD

Salako - Devil's Feet Lullaby

Album: Musicality
Year: 1999
Buy: Musicality

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‘World’s Apart’ may have been a bit of a let down but And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead have a formidable back catalogue to cheery pick from. ‘Source Tags & Codes’ is their undoubted masterpiece but further back the band had set about pruning their avalanche of sound into a robust torrent of noise. To the casual listener what is presented can be overwhelming as the often-abrasive instrumentation can mask the beauty that lurks beneath the surface. ‘Mistakes & Regrets’ has Jason Reece stretching his lungs to near collapse a la ‘Territorial Pissings’ with the dramatic guitar rampage looting what is left of your mind. The drumming is studied and drives the piece through the twists and turns of its own schizophrenia. And it all starts so pleasantly as a bubbly chord bandies about with little or no sign of the malice about to block out the horizon. And that is AYWKUBTTOD’s greatest trick, a fortunate knack of marrying the calm and the storm. If you can manage to weather it out then one of today’s most vital bands can be yours to saviour. KD

And You Will Us By The Trail Of Dead - Mistakes & Regrets

Album: Madonna
Year: 1999
Buy: Madonna

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Can’t believe it when you hear the sound of the east coast emanating from the Thrills, do you do a double take every time you hear Deus’ fractured Velvet Underground vignettes, or do pinch yourself everytime Gavin Rossdale launches into another grunge inspired artefact? In the increasingly homogenised world it seems as if a bands location doesn’t necessary dictate their sound. And so we have Pale Sunday, a delicate 3 piece from a small town in Brazil who write about girls and stuff. There is something decidedly wholesome about Pale Sunday, not many could get away with lyrics like ‘Who’s that girl playing a white tambourine? And singing “la, la, lala… la, la, lala’ and sound completely endearing. The band quote Sarah Records as a major influence and their music espouses the labels uncluttered joy. Luiz Gustavo vocals are tender and warm and his backup can swish from shimmering to blustering guitar movements within the blink of an eye. ‘White Tambourine’ is straight down the line indie pop, without the baggage. Now when is the last time you’ve sat down to such an uncomplicated treat? KD

Pale Sunday - White Tambourine

Album: Summertime
Year: 2005
Buy: Summertime

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