I’m not sure if I said it here before but U2 stopped being an essential band for me during the fade out of ‘All I Want Is You’ on the ‘Rattle & Hum’ album. Up to that point I was besotted, Bono was my hero and I was blind to his, frankly embarrassing, procrastinations. The Edge was the epitome of cool, Larry Mullins his jokey side kick while even back then Adam Clayton stood out as a pleasant geek (the buffon hairstyle was shameful even back then). U2’s early albums are still crucial, energetic and varied displaying a band with ideas to burn. A lot was thanks to Dave Evans memorable riffs (both piano and chord) but U2 were always much more than the sum of their parts. ‘Boy’ is probably my favourite album because it has a natural progression from start to finish, thanks largely to the wonderful segues in the latter section of side one (vinyl speak). ‘October’ the follow up was a departure but it also had wonderful unheralded moments like ‘I Fall Down’, which has stood the test of time. There is almost a spiritual feel in the bands delivery, that special ingredient latter day U2 have long since abandoned. KD

U2 - I Fall Down

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More Info: U2
Buy Album: [UK] October [US] October
Year: 1981

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There are quite a few things about the Delilahs to get excited about. First off they come from a neat place called Zug in Switzerland yet they still display a nice line in edgy aggression. Secondly, despite their short years their profile at home is such that they've already supported Black Rebel Motorcycle Club. And finally they decided to called their debut release ‘This Is It’ (not even the Strokes dared to do that) giving the impression that confidence is something the band aren't short of. They cite the Breeders (does that make them the real Deal?) and the Pretenders as influences and you can spot them on the lairy sneer that is 'Wind Keeps Blowing (and I Keep Falling)'. And all this from a demo that was recorded 2 years ago. Oh yeah lastly, the Delilah’s love football and have recorded a song called ‘One-Nil at Home’. Give them a guitar and a yard of stage and they could be something well worth watching. KD

The Delilahs - Wind Keeps Blowing (and I Keep Falling)

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More Info: Official & Myspace
Buy Delilahs: Stuff
Year: 2006

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Not even the normally reliable Wikipedia can reveal anything new about this UK band. Just when you think the internet has got it all you go and rediscover an early nineties band who have even been forgotten by the biggest open database the world has ever known. I can remember recording this fabulous song from the radio to tape in early 1991 (slim times kids, but somehow we treasured the music we had even more) and constantly replaying it until the tape spooled and snapped. Top were Alan Wills, Joe Fearon and Paul Cavanagh and were the proud recipients of a Peel session exactly 16 years yesterday. Their one and only album ‘Emotion Lotion’ was released the same year and still sounds like the perfect accompaniment to (fellow scousers) the La’s eponymous debut. ‘She’s Got All The World’ may initially seem a tad formulaic but Cavanagh continually summons a wealth of vocal inventiveness to bathe your tired ears in. KD

Top - She's Got All The World

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More Info: ???
Buy Album: [UK] Emotion Lotion [US] Emotion Lotion
Year: 1991

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Despite falling head over for euphoric trance towards the end of the last century its funny how I rarely return to the countless compilations I picked up. A couple of things still stand out in my memory though. Art of Trance’s ‘Madagascar’ is just too epic to forget and I always had a soft spot for whatever Dutch whizz kid Ferry Corsten turned his hand to. I remember this track from a cursory listen I gave to Timo Maas’s ‘Loud’ album in a Sydney record store back in 2001. ‘O.C.B.’ (Obsessive Compulsive Bipolar) has a hypnotic quality, not unlike ‘Indian Vibes’ even though I’m not sure whether the chords are guitar or sitar produced (probably both). The beat is bulbous a la Fatboy Slim’s better moments and once it kicks in it's hard to restrain oneself from rocking approvingly. Maas has drifted into the indie arena of late remixing songs for both Placebo and Depeche Mode (‘Personal Jesus’ if you don’t mind). KD

Timo Maas - O.C.B.

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Buy Album: [UK] Loud [US] Loud
Year: 2001

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I can’t think of anything else I would rather listen to this winter’s evening than ’20 Fingers 20 Toes’ by Goodnight Monster. Perhaps it’s the effect of a hangover or perhaps it’s the realisation that 9-2-5 is beckoning in a couple of hours. Whatever it is about these Finns (Matti Jasu and Valtteri Virtanen), right now the twee glow from this song is all I need to lock out the world outside. They have an album too called ‘The Brain That Wouldn’t Die’ and a quick glance of some its reviews reveals that ’20 Fingers 20 Toes’ isn’t alone in its venture to please those enamoured with simple melodies and cute musical gestures. The lyrics also toe the party line, being as innocently exuberant as a 3 years old attempt to break his keepy uppy record. Goodnight Monster are currently working on their sophomore record. KD

Goodnight Monsters - 20 Fingers 20 Toes

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Buy Album: The Brain That Wouldn't Die
Year: 2006

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Some day soon a crack documentary team are going to have to infiltrate deepest Sweden and find out how on earth a country of under 10 million is currently producing a fair percentage of the most exciting acts in indiedom. A good starting point on the journey of sonic discovery could be one Emil Svanängen, the impetus that powers Loney, Dear. I know I slip into hyperbole quite easily but if Loney, Dear’s ‘Loney, Noir’ is not featuring in most lists of the top albums of 2007 then I’ll eat my moth ridden long sleeved Frank & Walters t-shirt. Quite simply it is an astonishing work that’ll have tingles running down your spine in the same way it happened that time you overestimated your capacity for swallowing desert spoons of fizzy sherbet all those years ago. Svanängen has a delicate voice with an aptitude to reduce a man to tears. So far, ‘Carrying A Stone’ is the tune that always has its way with me until my slobbering becomes slightly undignified for a man in his mid-thirties. As you can imagine it is quite affecting. The track included here is the opener on ‘Loney, Noir’ that Sub Pop have posted on their website. ‘I Am John’ is busy with all manner of subtle nuances like a tinkling glockenspiel, early Belle & Sebastian guitar led dalliances and Svanängen virtuoso performance that marks him out as a singular voice. I've got a camera, anyone want to join me? 'Loney, Noir' is released on Sub Pop on February 6th. You can hear him on 'This Boy' from I'm From Barcelona. KD

Loney, Dear - I Am John

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Buy Album: [UK] Loney, Noir [US] Loney Noir
Year: 2007

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I like Frightened Rabbit because they take the funniest of press shots of themselves in various stages of exhaustion. It’s a laissez faire approach that is to be commended; they don’t even let us know what their surnames are for god’s sake. They are two brothers from Glasgow called Scott and Grant who recorded a nice song 3 years ago and decided that maybe being in a band was the way to go. Since then another soul has joined them and together they made something called ‘Sing The Greys’. ‘Be Less Rude’ is the 5th track from that something and a tidy package it is too. Scott’s vocals sound like a cowering Robert Smith while the band do a good approximation of what Pavement were capable of as they entered one of their cohesive ‘Slanted & Enchanted’ sessions (with tuneful harmonica asides). Frightened Rabbit will probably be filthy rich some day; their tired natures will probably mean the gold will be hidden under their mattresses. KD

Frightened Rabbit - Be Less Rude

More Info: Official & Myspace
Buy Album: [UK] Sing the Greys [US] Sing the Greys
Year: 2006

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When it comes to shoegaze it’s hard to look beyond the heavy hitters MBV, Slowdive, the Pale Saints and Ride. Reading’s Chapterhouse also belong to this premier grouping due largely to their early wide eyed sonic manoeuvres. Despite issuing a wonderful single in ‘Mesmerise’ Chapterhouse completely lost the plot after their early EP’s and ‘Whirlpool’ had promised so much. That said the album was an inconsistent piece but threw up several classics of the genre. It opened in breakneck fashion with ‘Breather’, which sported Chapterhouse’s signature wispy vocals that could quickly be ushered to the heavens in a fluid tract of melody. In the background, foreground and all around were unspeakably beautiful guitars building cavernous sounds for the vocals to lurch mischievously. 'Breather' still sounds remarkably uplifting 16 years on and challenges the mighty ‘Pearl’ as the bands best work. ‘Whirlpool’ was re-released recently once the bands label noticed the vast sums that existing copies were fetching on auction sites. KD

Chapterhouse - Breather

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Buy Album: [UK] Whirlpool [US] Whirlpool
Year: 1991

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Throw the Monkees, Mike Batt, Salako, the Unicorns and Cosmic Rough Riders into a Fisher Price blender. Leave the mixture in the sun for 3 long summer days and consume at will until life feels like one long walk down a white sandy beach in the lego forest. Because that’s where the Junipers come from, a colourful land of smiley happy faces and oversized colourful flowers. Joe (he’s got more good songs than could fit in) Wiltshire is the genius songwriter and Marc Johnson is the vehicle that carries through on the songs promise. Together they are constructing the Junipers debut album for a summer release. Expect sunny harmonies aplenty that lend an appreciative eye on faultless sixties chorus’. ‘Pearly Home’ with its jangling chords, sucrose vocals and strings pulled from a broken heart is pop perfection treated to a twist of psychedelia. Is that your teeth tingling? KD

The Junipers - Pearly Home

More Info: Official & Myspace
Buy Album: very soon....
Year: 2007

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It all started in Galway so it seems sorta appropriate that SuperJimenez should find their drummer in Supermacs (not sure if he was sucking a drumstick pulled from a snackbox at the time though). From such unlikely sources has sprung an indie sensation capable of producing springy numbers like ‘Helicopters’. The song dented the Irish charts (which ain’t much of an achievement in itself as a single copy bought by family members could achieve this), unfortunately it didn’t do enough damage to wake the Irish record buying public from its slumber. ‘Helicopters’ is one of those songs that appears on indie compilations the world over, you’ll pick it out immediately, you may even throw some cutlery in the air with delight. If SuperJimenez can reproduce this sort of form a couple of dozen times then we could have a very special prospect indeed, at least until Tim Wheeler rediscovers his mojo anyway. With the bands second single ‘Beau’ about to be released you better watch out for flying desert spoons. KD

SuperJimenez - Helicopters

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More Info: Official & Myspace
Buy The EP: Helicopters
Year: 2006

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John Andrew Frederick (his full name) has been the lone constant in the Black Watch’s 20-year career. To date the band in its various guises has released 11 albums and from what I’ve heard so far their template devolves from a cultured palette. ‘Tatterdemalion’ is taken from the most recent album of the same name and recalls classic early nineties heroes Swervedriver and Dinosaur Jr. The vocals are beautifully delivered in a near drunken drawl while the guitar ensemble skilfully produces a cohesive sound from a tangle of high-density chords. This is a million miles away from the scatty charms of new bands like the View or Arctic Monkeys. It is grown up, reflective but thankfully has enough brio to scare your Dad back to his dusty Donovan vinyl. KD

The Black Watch - Tatterdemalion

More Info: Official & Myspace
Buy Album: [UK] Hypnotizing Sea [US] Hypnotizing Sea
Year: 2005

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Albarn get back to what you do best and release a Blur album. Am I the only one getting increasingly bored with him out of Colchester’s constant reinvention? He’s a talented lad, no doubt but there most be a million things in the world more exciting than sitting down to listen to an album full of the Good, the Bad and the Queen. I’m sure it’s brill and I will get around to listening to it some time this winter but surely it’s a case of delaying the inevitable. Coxon will be coaxed back; despite his colourful burst of noise little of his solo output seems to have stuck. Then, we can admire the process that makes Blur such a colossus, the true flag bearers of Brit Pop (baggy, slacker rock, indie electronica etc.). So enough of these cartoon bands and super groups that are mere excuses for collective back slapping and fine nights out down the Camden Arms. Damon in the name of good music, just sing. KD

Blur - Sing

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More Info: Official & Myspace
Buy Album: [UK] Leisure [US] Leisure
Year: 1991

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I’m not one for blathering on about the same band. Perhaps it’s just my ADD-like tendency when it comes to listening to music of late. From time to time though a band strikes a chord (!) and I’m sold. Loney, Dear are fast becoming my favourite for 2007 along with Dublin band Angel Pier whose ‘Bullet Holes & Broken Sectors’ EP is giving my last.fm account some tough arithmetic workouts. Seeing as they are Stone Roses fans it comes as a bit of surprise to see Angel Pier pulling off some tricks more closely aligned to the sounds appearing from other side of the Atlantic (and our own Brilliant Trees from time to time). Their EP is a remarkably rounded effort for a band who are barely a year old with tunes such as ‘My Best New Friend’ dishing out bulging melodies, frenetic playing and Darragh Nolan’s ebullient vocal swagger. ‘Sprites’ has already been mentioned here in glowing terms but ‘Brothers & Sisters’ and ‘Pray’ are also delightfully fetching. On this evidence these particular angels could be playing with a lot of hearts in the near future. KD

Angel Pier - My New Best Friend

More Info: Official & Myspace
Buy The EP: Bullet Holes & Broken Sectors
Year: 2007

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This is the same Cathy Davey mentioned in the Autamata post of a couple of days ago. The same CD who appeared on Elbow’s ‘Grace Under Pressure’ (from their middle album ‘A Cast of Thousands’) and the same Dublin lass who has shared a stage with ace troubadour’s Willy Mason and David Kitt. While Davey admits to dreading the whole experience of standing on a stage in front of hundreds of adoring fans the idea of chucking some ideas together in the form of a demo doesn’t phase her whatsoever. And so every now and then she sneaks songs like ‘Sing For Your Supper’ onto unsuspecting internet trawlers whose expressed aim is to find the music that really matters. ‘Sing For Your Supper’ is certainly special, as delicate as crumbling hobnob with the added fascination of a militaristic rumble not seen since the early moments of Agincourt. KD

Cathy Davey - Sing For Your Supper

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Buy Album: [UK] Something Ilk [US] Something Ilk
Year: 2004

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‘All This Time’ is the title track from Heartless Bastards second LP released last August. And a pretty remarkable record it is too. Not only for Erika Wennerstorm’s remarkable vocals (up there with Harvey, O'Connor, Joplin, Gudmundsdottir) but also the rich tapestry of sound supplied by Wennerstorm’s own guitars and her pulsing rhythm section. ‘All This Time’ much like its album cousins is punchy, stately and about as pristine as indie rock gets. Wennerstorm has passion to burn and a soundtrack to bottle it. The chords are all pervading with incendiary riffs that could levitate a fat possum from its store of forest floor delicacies. ‘All This Time’ is the Ohio trio’s sophomore album and is an essential piece of the jigsaw that is your perfect music collection. KD

Heartless Bastards - All This Time

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Buy Album: [UK] All This Time [US] All This Time
Year: 2006

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If ever a tune deserved to back some trendy advertising campaigns it’s Autamata’s ‘Jive County’. Why, well it’s not too often that you hear something as consistently pleasing while at the same time utterly inoffensive. ‘Jive County’ is the work of Mayo producer/musician Ken McHugh and is taken from his bands (Carol Keogh and Cathy Davey being the other members) debut album ‘My Sanctuary’. McHugh was brought up on a diet of traditional music and you can pick up on the spirit of that art form in his compositions. A sound engineering course quickly saw his production skills put to good use and it’s doubtful whether David Kitt’s ‘The Big Romance’ (ah, the electronic diversions make more sense now) would have sounded so all encompassing without him at the helm. Hopefully though it’ll be Autamata’s own sonic inventions that McHugh will be remembered for. KD

Autamata - Jive County

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More Info: Official & Myspace
Buy Album: My Sanctuary
Year: 2002

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