There is an element of artiness about everything that comes out of the 3-piece that is the Grates. Whether it be the school report styled bio on their website, the slick yet childlike press shots or the interminably cool music it not too difficult to spot that these are undeniably gifted kids. Hopefully the industry they find themselves in won’t spoil their quirky edge because it would be a shame if they didn’t soon occupy a popular niche all on their own. ‘Sukkafish’ (nope I don’t know what it is either) is a single from last year and highlights Patience Hodgson’s Manda Rineque lineage. She displays intensity without ever expelling through much bile; in fact her anger could easily be measured as a slight tantrum or perhaps amiable youthful exuberance (she is a noted speedball of activity on stage too). She’s not the only attraction either as John Patterson’s understated riff’s are effortlessly appealing. Alana Skyring, despite having a name built for stardom, takes up the rear with a punchy display on drums. The Grates ‘Gravity Won’t Get You High’ is being revealed piecemeal to the world throughout 2006 so get in there before the jocks do. KD

The Grates - Sukkafish

More Info: The Grates
Buy Something From The Hearth: [UK] Gravity Won't Get You High [US] Gravity Won't Get You High
Year: 2006

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Syd Barrett 1946 - 2006



Pink Floyd - Astronomy Domine

That Visage piece got me thinking about other great synth wonders from the 1980’s. Depeche Mode, Erasure and the Human League are certainly up with the best, but in terms of sheer delight that they brought forth OMD are my favourites. Andy McCluskey and Paul Humphreys started out way back in 1978 and released their first single 'Electricity' a year later. The duo had a neat line in effeminate posturing and a rather mixed up fashion sense but they certainly knew their way around a keyboard. They based their sound on the kingpins of electro genre, German band 'Kraftwerk', but added their own little dollop of pop sensibility which lit up the charts. OMD's output didn't go unnoticed and they were even signed to the legendary Factory Records for a time. The deep-rooted melancholy that traverses through much of their back catalogue is never more evident than on the technicolour splendour of 'Souvenir'. The vocals are timid and fragile and the tune resonates with a timeless piano riff. While OMD’s previous singles had burnt a trail through limitless energy, 'Souvenir' managed to compel through its own melodic genius. One piece of interesting trivia: with this being the time of vinyl some copies of the 'Souvenir' single were mistakenly pressed with the Human League's 'Love Action' on the reverse. KD

OMD - Souvenir

More Info: OMD
Buy Album: [UK] Architecture and Morality: Remastered [US] Architecture & Morality
Year: 1981

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Oh I know the auld line ‘my favourite track of the year’ gets bandied about like confetti but there is nothing else to describe this wonderful tune from Sunny Day Sets Fire. Its original members met while working as ushers at a London cinema and the group has recently become a quartet. They have already released 2 singles on 7-inch (wowsers) 'Brainless' and 'Wilderness'. Their varied located birthages and musical acumen has resulted in a wonderful sound that visibly swaggers from the outset. ‘Wilderness’ is wonderfully realised, hip shakingly cool and about as necessary as Panadol on a Sunday morn. It cools and reheats on several occasions, positioning the listener tantalisingly between mild hysteria and hopeless addiction. This is truly seminal music to be played until your kids adopt it as their own. Expect a surge in phonograph sales. KD

Sunny Day Sets Fire - Wilderness

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More Info: Official & Myspace
Buy Some Shellac Based Media: [UK] Wilderness [7" VINYL]
Year: 2006

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The Forms are the natural descendants of In Motion with their seamless tapestry of vocals, chomping bass, wispy drumming and gliding chords. Their debut album was produced by Steve Albini, no less, and boasts 10 tracks that segue into each other affording 18 minutes (!) of blissed out jamboree. What is lost in discernible lyrics is more than made up for in the lush soundscapes. The free flowing jangle provides the perfect foil for singing that is equal parts adolescent in love and drunken poet. With nothing resembling a chorus the Forms music hovers about like moody monday morning fog, the effect is in turn refreshing and otherworldly. Expect the Forms second long player later this year. KD

The Forms - Blackmetal

The Forms - Sunday

More Info: The Forms
Buy Album: [UK] Icarus [US] Icarus
Year: 2003

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As spirited and downright melodic as anything to ever have come out of Labrador In Motion were a short lived Dublin band led by Alan Kelly. Signed to the legendary Dead Elvis label they only ever released one album ‘The Language Of Everyday Life’ which had a limited run of a 1000 copies. The production lacked clarity, which meant the melodies had to work hard to be heard above the fuzz. Thankfully each of its 8 cuts were lavishly endowed with vocal hooks and abundant jangling guitars. Alan Kelly’s words are often masked in a harmonious free for all yet the music often raises the bar as on ‘Five And Twenty Thousand Days’ where a trumpet soars so triumphantly it’ll have you welling up. The inescapable euphoric feeling that pervades throughout In Motion’s music never really found an audience so here’s your chance to be whisked off your feet. Alan Kelly is still making music through the hushed beauty that is his Last Post. KD

In Motion - Five And Twenty Thousand Days

More Info: In Motion
Year: 1994

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The information are a Boston 6-piece with an eye for ear candy. Imagine if one of those anthemic allstars could take off their seatbelts and again play it like nobody in a stripped suit was looking over their shoulders then you you’d get an idea of what the Information are about. There is no standing on ceremony, the point is made as soon as it can be and more often than not what they have to say is a joy. The bands debut ‘Mistakes We Knew We Were Making’ was released early last year on Primary Voltage Records. Containing the rapturous ‘A Simple Plan’ with its thunderous chords, machine gun percussion and Max Fresen and Ashley Moody’s pleasing duet it could generate goosebumps at 100F. The band are currently working on a follow up EP which will probably hatch later this year. KD

The Information - A Simple Plan

More Info: Official & Myspace
Buy Album: Mistakes We Knew We Were Making
Year: 2005

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You’d wonder why nobody had ever thought of it before. It seems as obvious as the nose on your face to call a band Fred but until this Cork band chose to do so the moniker lie as dormant as a Big Brother’s contestants thought processes. The band spawned from a shared university experience, but several founding members later they arrived at their current quintetedness. Fred have 2 albums under their belt already and a live experience that includes lots of salacious drumming and ye olde forgotten tradition of smiling. ‘Summers Coming’ is taken from their current album ‘Making Music So You Don’t Have To’ and claps so many hands you just feel like saying yeah. Embrace the lovely violins chirping in the background and a take on samba that'll have you crying over Ronaldino’s lack of wizardry over the last month. Sort of bohemian, definitely free spirited and as loveable as a pocket full of baby koala’s this should be as essential as sandals during the long days. KD

Fred - Summers Coming

More Info: Fred
Got Some Bread?: Buy Some Fred
Year: 2005

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When they first arrived Chichester’s Hope Of The States seemed to offer something a little different. The tragic suicide of one of its members during the recording of ‘The Lost Riots’ merely added to the intrigue surrounding the band. Sadly, to these ears at least, the record was a mixed affair with the bands ambitions being held back by several ponderous efforts. I don’t listen to it anymore and a disappointing performance in Dublin in 2004 hardly helped. But at least ‘Everything For Everyone’ still sounds epic. The song appeared on a promo for the ‘Black Dollar Bills’ single and seems to have never made it beyond demo stage. Sam Herlihy’s vocals stray from time to time but the compassion that is expressed allied to the lush instrumentation makes for a heart swelling time. Hope of The States have just released their sophomore LP ‘Left’. KD

Hope Of The States - Everything For Everyone

More Info: Hope Of The States
Buy Album: [UK] Left
Year: 2006

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In the snotty corner stood the unwashed punks spitting vitriol with as much capacity as they thrashed their guitars. On the other velvet covered couch lounged a group whose unfashionable aloofness was more than complimented by their frankly over elaborate use of make up. For decades scorn has been the daily punishment for the latter group, while the wide boys bask in the warm glow of contemporary rose tinted goggles. I guess it’s easy to be critical of boys dressed like girls but the music that could be magical is often forgotten. Visage are often seen as the first new romantics even if their reliance on synthesizers could have also seen them sit nicely in the electro movement. Steve Strange was the muscle and a pre-Ultravox Midge Ure his right hand man. ‘Fade To Grey’ was their undeniable zenith, a hypnotic mix of Anglo/French lyrics and an all encompassing organic swerve. Today, it remains bulbous with possibilities and you can bet it would still look good on a dancefloor. KD

Visage - Fade To Grey

More Info: Visage
Get Made: [UK] Visage [US] Visage
Year: 1980

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This song has been going around my head for the last few days. It has that effect you see, drenching you in its hypnotic take on slowcore. Mundane activities like peering out a window take on a greater resonance with this playing in the background. Logh are from Sweden and seem determined to take over the world by stealth. ‘The Smoke Will Lead You Home’ boasts no definable chorus, relying instead on the strummed electrics and broody vocals. And boy is it contagious, enough to have you running out to buy Logh’s mesmerising 3rd album ‘A Sunset Panorama’ which came out last year. The album was apparently recorded in a marathon 10-hour session and the fruits of this inspired brainstorm have left us with 12 low-slung classics that Sonic Youth would have been proud to call their own. Expect album number 4 later this year. Now get out of my sight as I’ve got some peering to do. KD

Logh - The Smoke Will Lead You Home

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More Info: Logh
Get Logh'd: [UK] A Sunset Panorama [US] A Sunset Panorama
Year: 2005

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Not that Mercury Rev need much of an introduction but there was life in this band before ‘Deserter's Songs’. A pretty turbulent one too it has to be said as drugs, internal feuds and lack of recognition meant that ‘Holes’ et al may never have seen the light of day. Reputably formed after its various members met in a psychiatric hospital Mercury Rev released an uneven joy in 1993 called ‘Boces’. Lacking the distinct tuneage that would be eventually see them bloom it did, nonetheless, include 2 bona fida’s in ‘Something For Joey’ and ‘Bronx Cheer’. Sporting a remarkably sprightly Jonathan Donahue vocal performance the latter was also characterised by a rush My Bloody Valentine guitars. Deep inside the chaotic melodrama was a cutesy melody that said much about a talent that would eventually sweep us all off our feet. KD

Mercury Rev - Bronx Cheer

More Info: Mercury Rev
Buy Album: [UK] Boces [US] BOCES
Year: 1993

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Field has appeared many times in the world of indiepop. So far we’ve had the Magnetic Fields, the Field Mice, Field Notes and Stars of Track & Field. Fields have gone one step further by not including any filler whatsoever. The band boasts an international cast of members from such exotic locations as Reykjavik, London and Birmingham. They are about to go on an enticing tour with Wolfmother, iForward, Russia! and the Maccabees which will go a long way to snaring lots of new fans. Future dates including supports to the Radio Dept. and (the criminally underrated) My Latest Novel. ‘Charming The Flames’ is a demo track that plays like a fully formed Arcade Fire composition. Its formula is multi-layered, frequently furnishing the listener with several avenues of unparalleled discovery. This is a mouth-watering taster for their new EP ‘4 From The Village’, which is out later this month. KD

Fields - Charming The Flames

More Info: Fields
Buy the EP: [UK] 4 from the Village [US] 4 from the Village
Year: 2006

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The short-lived Carlisle threesome ctrlaltdelete may only appear as a tiny footnote in the annals of rock yet over the course of 2 EP’s they crafted a memorable legacy. They were also fond of the sprawling song title, which would probably have left radio playlisters in a fuddle if, of course, they had ever considered the bands music in the first place. ‘Each Of These Innocents…’ is a tender piece of music that only periodically lets its hair down to produce paint stripping results. For the rest of the time the dynamics are unveiled with all the tactical nouse of Luiz Felipe Scolari, fresh and vibrant this is music that always results in a winning end product. KD

ctrlaltdelete - Each Of These Innocents On The Street Is Engulfed By A Terror Of Their Own Ordinariness

More Info: ctrlaltdelete
Buy Album: [UK] Mondegreens [US] Mondegreens
Year: 2006

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Lorna are a quartet from Nottingham who are putting the finishing touches to their third LP. Their sound is most allied to Mojave 3 (and its predecessor Slowdive) but you can hear elements of Camera Obscura and Teenage Fanclub creeping through. As you’d expect from such a heavenly mix there are pretty moments aplenty with Sharon Cohen and Mark Rolfe’s vocals both elegantly slouching in the hushed musical drama. Another feather in their cap came by way of their exquisite home made release the ‘December’ EP that flew in the face of a greedy industry by donating all profits from its sale to charity. ‘Understanding Heavy Metal Parts I & II’ is an example of how plush Lorna get, shuffling in a slipstream of dreamy vocals and plucky rhythms designed to shut out a hurried world. What could be more tempting on a Sunday morning? KD

Lorna - Understanding Heavy Metal Parts I & II

More Info: Official & Myspace
Buy Album: [UK] Static Patterns and Souvenirs [US] Static Patterns and Souvenirs
Year: 2005

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There are some bands who could not have been conceived without first drenching their collective machinations in rocks rich tapestry. And so it is that Black Lipstick have evolved from the unique creations of the Velvet Underground and the Stones. The beauty is the way they cajole their own magic from their instruments as much as they borrow. ‘Bob Fosse’ is so awkwardly sophisticated; opening up from its elaborate beginnings where the tempo is built incrementally to become a retro heeled display of genius cool. Not everyone can coin a song like this, it takes talent, as much as it took Jagger and Richards to bring their own definition of the blues to the masses. So why aren’t Black Lipstick global, you could’ve asked Lou Reed the same question in the late sixties. KD

Black Lipstick - Bob Fosse

More Info: Official & Myspace
Buy Album: [UK] Converted Thieves [US] Sincerely Black Lipstick
Year: 2005

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