Recent CD's

DAMIEN DEMPSEY "IT'S ALL GOOD" - Awesome Irish Lullaby, with guest vox by ... SINEAD O'CONNOR - one of the best of 04 so far. See him at Cardiff Barfly

PAUL WELLER "THE BOTTLE" - One of the Radio Mysteries of our time that Jam & Style Council records are not on frequent rotation .... on any radio station. This new accoustic side to Weller has many of the angry hallmarks you'd have loved on Money Go Round, pacey angry and well... Weller! Out 14 Jun

ADAM GREEN "FRIENDS OF MINE" & "BORN TO RUN" - I have a feeling I might know who's got the crack! Very bizarre and strangely enamouring - Adam Green's last single Jessica Simpson was a beaut, and this is a real contender, Friends as bizarre as you'd expect from a Mouldy Peach and then Bruce Springsteen's Born To Run complete with replicated Sax sound - and to think I was waiting for some tongue in cheek jiggery pokery, hang-on what are those "Ta-Ta, Ta-Ta" vocals?! Out 31 May

ORDINARY BOYS "TALK TALK TALK" - If only Busted rocked like these guys, still I bet the OB's would swap Bank Accounts - Week In Week Out was a great single, this is not quite as instant but these not so Ordinary Boys are on their way again with this. Out 14 Jun

MULL HISTORICAL SOCIETY "HOW ABOUT I LOVE YOU MORE" - Yeah Colin McIntyre is not gonna give up and he's getting there picking up fans on tour in the UK and US. An aquired taste - this is so reminiscent of something, maybe McCartney-esque Beatles, maybe Mull is the clue. I really liked his accoustic slap in the face to Eminem - def. not Slim Shady! Out 21 Jun

BEN KWELLER "ON MY WAY" Ben's new album is a little more uptemp than last time out, but still off the wall and takes a few listens out now

TENNASUN "WEST OF 71" very pleasant melodic towards Travis - maybe? " out 28 Jun

LIARS "WE FENCED OTHER GARDENS" EP - I can't get my head around the Liars, this is really weird attention seeking and I think ultimately unsuccessfull - this is just too different and jarring to be listened too! Sorry out 24 May

DATSUNS "BLACKEN MY THUMB" - More hard rockin from The Datsuns - hitbound! out 31 May

SEX PISTOLS "LIVE AT THE 76 CLUB" What a find for £3.99 - this is Matlock, Jones, Rotten & Cook recorded live sometime in '76 before their impending fame - and I was fully expecting it to be crap, but it's... excellent. A fantastic historical testament to how tight a band The Pistols actually were before all the fuss! Well worth searching out from Prism Records in bargain bins now

KASABIAN
CLUB FOOT new single out 10 May 2004
This is a brutal recording, a storming riff, both the radio mix and the Jagz Kooner Vocal Mix - devastating production - these guys are saying look out we're coming in whether you like it or not! The sleeve's a bit strange though, not quite sure what they're trying to portrait with the hooded image, not sure I like it. However the record is great and deserves a Top Ten placing - maybe that's why the image is so strong, to break them into the chart faster. 'Kur-say-be-an' are after all on BMG Records - a record company run by.. Simon Cowell Argggghhhhh! XXXXX www.kasabian.co.uk

LONGVIEW - STRIPPED DOWNLOAD ONLY

This is quite a surprise, I never had Longview down as fans of Depeche Mode, more multi tracking Queen. This could even be Depeche Mode and I rather like Longview's clever approach, sometimes I feel it's a little too smart but I always feel they're going to get there. This is an interesting recording and merits a listen and a few plays at least while fans await the new single proper "In A Dream" which is out on 21st June - They play at Cardiff Uni, Solus on 17th June XXXX www.longviewmusic.com

THE DISTILLERS
THE HUNGER new single out on 15 March 2004
Possibly the strongest single yet from Australian Brody Dalle and her band of Los Angeles Punkers, "four top notch musicians who hate eachother"??? Well their new album will be released soon, and this is more of the same but probably more radio friendly. www.thedistillers.com XXXX

THE SLIDES - CAN YOU FEEL IT new single out 29 March 2004

London four piece The Slides debut single is a fine first effort, you'll know Can You Feel It if you watch Sky Sports One, and Here Comes The Night is a moody, intriguing atmospheric exaltation...(eh?) It's good, well worth a listen. Their UK tour starts in March in Cardiff. XXXX check out www.theslides.com for more info.

GISLI - PASSING OUT EP new EP out on 22 March 2004

Gisli means hostage in Icelandic. Gisli is Icelandic, and quotes his main influences as Iron Maiden, Justin Timberlake, Dinosaur Junior & Beck. Having split from his band Pornshot to go solo, Track 1 'Passing Out' is intriguing enough if a little mellow, but check Track 2 "Go Get Em Tiger", it's surprisingly excellent! There maybe room for the mass marketplace now that Europe and the World is trying to get into our living rooms, but I'm not sure how many of these new acts are going to make long term careers or good music, it's a bit like an inverted fisherman's net which is just as well for Gisli, cos his dad was a ... fisherman! X for Passing Out, XXXX for Go Get Em Tiger www.gisli.co.uk

IRON MAIDEN - NO MORE LIES, THE DANCE OF DEATH Souvenir EP new EP out on28 March 2004

Maggie has long gone but her name lives on, and in some style "Dance of Death" a massive success last year. This new release will include 30 minutes of music and be therefore ineligible for the Singles Chart. 'No More Lies' is a fine opus at 7 mins 21 seconds, precisely what you'd expect. Released more as a promo for the DVD "Dance of Death" with videos of 'Rainmaker and Wildest Dreams are included. We had a sell out, storming aftershow party with Funeral For A Friend guest DJing for Maiden fans last December, so whatever you think of Maiden they're on their quarter century and still going strong! XXX www.ironmaiden.com

THE OUTKAST - THE WAY YOU MOVE new single out 22 March 2004

I love The Outkast, Andre and Big Boi are so outrageous they cut accross the musical genres easily. Hey Ya! - what a song in the Top Ten for three months, and 'The Way You Move' is another brilliant track, perhaps not as strong as Hey Ya!, but nevertheless slinky and sexy and this will be a big hit. Their single price 'Speakerboxxx/The Love Below' double album is full of great tunes and production's and sexual overtones reminiscent of Prince. Now where was I - oh yeah 'Where Are My Panties" XXXX www.outkast.com

HIDING PLACE - NO CURE new single out 22 March 2004
A bit of stormin' Glaswegian Rock never went amiss, and this is just that. Harmonies and sound bear a similarity to Lost Prophets - "a perfect union of post-hardcore angst and inspired rock dynamics!" to quote the press release - I'm gonna say that on the radio. Derek, David, Doug and Marco have a combined age of ... 80, but this is a mature sound and I particularly like "Fear & Loathing", there on tour right now playing London, Scarborough, Sheffield, Leeds, Stoke, Nottingham, Wrexham, Brum, Milton Keynes, Leicester & Cambridge. Good stuff, XXX www.hiding-place.co.uk

WINNIEBAGO DEAL - GEORGE DICKEL EP out 29 March 2004
Ben & Ben from Oxford sound twice as loud as The White Stripes - in fact you'd never guess this was a two piece band - it really rocks! Recorded at Fortress in London, the production and mix is great and I'm curious to see them carry this off live, so look out for dates in March to be announced near ya! XXX www.doubledragonmusic.com

MAGNET & GEMMA HAYES - LAY LADY LAY new single out 22 March 2004
Yes I'm afraid it is Bob Dylan's song. Quite an understated video featuring lots of people in a bed, one of them being Gemma - an interesting idea to have a female vocal on this song, and it works well until she utters "I'm the best thing you've ever seen", oops cringe! Still this is a Norwegian production and maybe that would'nt sound so big headed in Nil Points Norway as it would in Nil Points Norwich! Sorry, but check out Track 3 "The Last Day Of Summer" really atmospheric, a beautiful atmosphere to it, incredible - it only goes to show Robbie should never have sang We Are The Chumpions! X for the Lay Lady Lay, XXX for Last Day Of Summer www.ultimate-dilemma.com

POWDERFINGER - LOVE YOUR WAY new single out on 15 March 2004
Sleazy and Sexy, from the 'sinister blues rock' album - 'Vulture Street', Powderfinger are playing Birmingham Academy 2, Manchester Academy, and London Hammersmith Odeon in March and this is probably destined for Top 40 success, listen out for their version of Iron Maiden's 'Number Of The Beast', very entertaining! XXXX www.powderfinger.com

ADAM SNYDER
ACROSS THE POND new album out now
Interesting to compare this to Neil Young and .. Jonathan Richman. Upstate New Yorker Adam Snyder was a member of the Mercury Rev's side project Harmony Rockets. "Off kilter sincerity" as the press release states just about describes my favourite track, the rather strangely numb and ironic "Daddy's Song". A Father's excuse and explanation to a querying daughter strikes a chord for some reason, "This is where Daddy lives now!". Not for the dancefloor except maybe "To All My Friends". Try a few potent bottles of wine and a close friend at the end of the day, listen, cuddle and see how you like these recording's then.. maybe XXX

MISSY ELLIOT - I'M REALLY HOT new single out on 22 March 2004
I think we must be a couple of years away from Missy's live sex shows, that is the only logical conclusion you could make from this progression into the land of sex. Pass The Dutch and Work It, this is another horny little chune from the Diva who tells it like it is ... for some! A Massive hit, XXX http://www.missyelliott.co.uk

MY RED CELL - KNOCK ME DOWN new EP out 8 March 2004
I really like Russell Toomey's distinctive vocals, that larynx wobbling is coming good. Head In The Ground was exceptional and this is again a stand out track. Since these Barry Boys have rebranded themselves they can't put a foot wrong and they deserve some success at last with these recent releases, good stuff well worth investing in! XXXX www.myredcell.com

AQUALUNG - EASIER TO LIE new single out 8 March 2004
I can't get into Mr Lung, it's too dour for me - reminds me of Black "Wonderful Life", takes my mood to mournfull. Easier to Lie is a song about "how hard it is to be good" but having said that Black were massively successful and there's no reason to think old Aqualung here couldn't hit the same nerve to the same effect these twenty years later. The self titled abum Aqualung sold 200.000 and if you can shift that many units you've got more fans than Girls Aloud! XX www.aqualung.net

ADAM GREEN - JESSICA new single out 8 March 2004
Adam Green played at Cardiff Barfly last year and performed a set in our 'heritage' record shop Spiller's and I really like this. It's a grower, "Jessica Simpson...." kind of reminds me of something, Leonard Cohen maybe? Track 2 is quite an amusing version of 'Kokomo' (The Beach Boys song featured in Tom Cruise's movie Cocktails) and Track 3 is a complete waste of time, four minutes audio featuring a child mumbling. Adam, what is the point of that? Jessica more than makes up for it, XXXX www.adamgreen.net

CHICKS ON SPEED - WORDY RAPPINGHOOD new single out 1 March
This is the the old Tom Tom Club hit, and it's no surprise to find Tina Weymouth involved in a major way. A brilliant innovative hit record in 1981 at a time when her main group Talking Heads were probably in their most successful period. Helpers with this re-recording include Dave Clarke, Miss Kitten, Nicola from adult ..., Le Tigre and Jill Mingo, so there! The Chicks are due to tour the UK again in late Feb and this is great benefitting from today's improved sonic technology. XXXX www.chicksonspeed.com

ELBOW - NOT A JOB new single out 23 February
This is not bad, probably the best yet from Elbow. Cast of Thousands was held in great esteem by the critics last year, but I have to say after promoting them at Cardiff University and hearing their various releases to date, I'm a little perplexed as to their appeal. You can't dance to their stuff and it's kinda difficult to grasp where the melody might be. Their audience that day didn't seem to know whether to applaude or to be silently mesmerised. Nevertheless it was an almost sold out gig. 'Not The Job' is at 3'46", one of their shorter releases, Top 10 maybe?? XX www.elbow.co.uk

SIRENS - BABY OFF THE WALL new single out Feb- ish
Geordie Hip-Hop?? This is rather good actually - Naycastle lasses Kat, Katrina, Lea & Lynsey 'fighting a crusade against manufactured pop' and rather like Mis-Teek's Style was released in an urban flava and a rock guitar mix - so is this and both versions are pretty useful. I think the urban mix will be the bigger success, it sounds like it was written that way! XXX

THE STILLS - LOLA STARS & STRIPES new single out 16 Feb.
This has a great intro and doesn't dissappoint. There seems to be an edginess to this which probably landed them their support slot on the Ryan Adams US Tour. You can see The Stills in the UK in Feb, at Brixton Acadmey again supporting Ryan in the NME Brat Show. XXXX

DOGS DIE IN HOT CARS - MAN BITES MAN EP out on 16 Feb 2004
Dogs Die have played at our place a couple of times recently and I'm quite impressed. First impressions with this EP leave me preferring Track 2 'The Queen Of Pumpkin Plukes', an intrigueing accoustic number that would make a good single for Christmas 2004. There's an instrumental Nobody Teaches which is quite different and some quaint lyrics to Track 4 'Passtimes & Lifestyles'. The A Track 'Man Bites Man' could be a grower, I feel Dogs Die could benefit from a bit more dosh on the production side, but nice XX

STEREOPHONICS - MOVIESTAR new single out 9 Feb 2004
Kelly & Richard sold 55,000 tix for their Millenium Stadium homecoming gig but must now have their sights set on America with more US dates in Feb & March & this new single. A pounding relentless beat conjuring up images of Hollywood Sleaze. I don't know if it's familiarity but is the sound getting a bit tiresome? It's great that Kelly has produced this track himself but are the vocals a little too drawn out? Maybe Tomorrow was a brilliant production but is it beginning to get a little predictable? Distinctive vocals and a trademark sound never hurt U2 so why knock it! Anyway we give it XXX out of 5

FERRY CORSTEN - ROCK YOUR BODY ROCK new single out 9 Feb 2004
This is a Dutch Ferry at work and it's not bad. You might remember Punk or an unusual mix of William Barber's Adagio For Strings, that was probably Ferry. This is a useful beatty tune capable of going all the way on the dancefloor, a little electro, a little Doom's Day and a bit of Prodigy and... this is the Rennie Pilgrim Remix on Positiva! XXX www.ferrycorsten.com & www.positivarecords.com

LIARS
THERE'S ONLY ROOM ON THE BROOM new single out 9 Feb 2004
Why do I think John Peel will love this? Only the most hardcore fans will dance or even lift their gaze from their pint with this first single from The Liars new album 'They Were Wrong, So We Drowned' out on 23 Feb, a record which explores 'the facts and folklore of witches and their craft' ? Interesting but not strong enough to really break through XX

FIERY FURNACES - TROPICAL ICE-LAND new single out 2 Feb 2004
Rough Trade's White Stripes, perhaps a little more well rounded and produced, which may not be a good thing. This is a good single, it's a catchy pop song, but whether it will catch the public imagination the way Hotel Yorba has is open to some debate. New York brother-sister duo Matt and Eleanor sound great and if you missed their support slots on the Hot Hot Heat & Franz Ferdinand tours you can see them headline at Cardiff Barfly on Feb 20 by which time Tropical Ice-land will have been in the Top 40 for a couple of weeks. Big Gig - Big Song XXXX

ROBOPOP Volume One new album out 26 Jan 2004
Following Goldfrapp's Chart attack, this is an excellent Compilation of songs of which The Human League, Erasure, Depeche Mode, Visage and Gary Numan would all be v. proud. Strangely the nearest you get to a previous hit song beside's the keyboard is Vic Twenty's cover of Lynsey DePaul's 1972 Top Tenner 'Suger Me' - a strange choice for an electro-pop cover but it works surprisingly well! Alpine Stars, Client and Baxendale have flawless offerings and the return of White Town! Not sure about My Robot Friend's 'Sex Machine' though, possibly too twee. If you like electro you should love this, XXXX

MODEY LEMON - PREDATOR new single out 26 Jan 2004
This is a great record, superb intro and pace - great traditional rock edgy vocals reminiscent of Billy Idol / Generation X.... King Rocker! Track 2 - Tongues makes a great wall of sound, Track 3 Left & Dented is a bit weird haunting and at 1min 56secs short, but Track 4 The Guest is back to Billy and a gshort but sweet storming 2'14"! The Modey Lemon's are a three piece hailing from Pittsburgh and you can savour their 'hurricane of sound' at Cardiff Barfly on Monday 26 Jan - the same day this single is released! XXX www.modeylemon.com