Lightspeed Champion

www.lightspeedchampion.com/
www.myspace.com/lightspeedchampion

I could give you the new track by Coldplay, but why on earth would I want to do that. I’d like to introduce you (or re-introduce you, if you know what I mean) to Lightspeed Champion. Since late 2006/early 2007 Dev Haynes has been going under the guise as Lightspeed Champion. The former Test Icicle has since released his debut album ‘Falling Off The Lavender Bridge’ this year. The acoustic genius is currently on tour with his full band, so catch him in a town near you.


Heavry
Back To Black (Amy Winehouse Cover)



Buy Falling Off The Lavender Bridge - HMV

First Glance: Auditory

http://www.myspace.com/auditory07

These two lads from the north west only have the one song on their MySpace at this moment in time, but it is one massive tune. Sam Bamber & Oli Townsend have created a dirty electro song that is akin to any song you would find on a Ed Banger compilation cd. They are currently in the process of re-mastering Nomadic, and hopefully we will hear more of these soon.

Nomadic (Higher Quality)

First Glance: Underground Heroes

www.myspace.com/undergroundheroes


"The Ordinary Boys Gargling Glass or The Jam if they'd have read the Razzle instead books on politics" - NME


Underground Heroes. This isn’t as such a first glance, but one of many stares. They aren’t nothing particularly new in music, but they give off such a raw energy at their gigs, that they are impossible to ignore. They are just about to embark on a may tour and have just come off the back off performing ‘Skinny Twins’ on the BBC3 show Lily Allen and Friends.


Influenced by their heroes The Specials, The Jam and The Clash, they are the sound of booze-sodden, crap fag smoking, cheap drug taking, concrete Britain. Lyrically they are inspired by the day to day life they know - the fights, night life, friends, birds - and the identikit town they live in.

Tracksuit Bottoms and Polo Tops

Chasing a Buzz

Buy Underground Heroes - Rough Trade

Paul Weller

www.paulweller.com/
www.myspace.com/paulweller

Happy St. George’s Day, and what a better way to celebrate it than to mention one of England’s greatest sons.

Paul Weller is to release his new album ‘22 Dreams’ on the 2nd of June. Here I give you the radio rips of the double a side single that will accompany ‘22 Dreams’, ‘Echoes Round The Sun’ of which features Noel Gallagher.

Have You Made Up Your Mind

Echoes Round The Sun

Paul Weller has also announced he will be playing a very special gig at Osbourne House, Isle of Wight on 26th July. He will be (reportedly) supported by The Rifles.

And to wet your appetite for The Rifles, here are three new videos of new songs by The Rifles. ‘Toerag’ is performed at a sound check in Leeds on the video, and ‘The Morning Sun’ is performed on The Rifles’ very own tour bus as is ‘Romeo & Juliet’



Toerag




The Morning Sun




Romeo & Juliet







Pre-Order 22 Dreams - HMV
Buy No Love Lost - Play.com
Pre-Order Forthcoming The Rifles Album - Play.com

First Glance: Skint and Demoralised

http://www.myspace.com/skintanddemoralisedsongs
http://www.skintanddemoralised.co.uk/



"Latter-day Northern Soul meets zeitgeist poetry from a Yorkshire teenager who shows ace potential."
Steve Lamacq (Radio 1)


Think John Cooper Clarke fused with northern soul beats, and you’ll be half way to explaining Skint and Demoralised. Skint and Demoralised is a musical duo made from wordsmith Matt Abbott and songwriter/producer MiNI dOG (David Gledhill). The ‘project’ started when Matt Abbott wrote spoken word poetry and recorded it on his phone, and when he met MiNI dOG, the pair started to fuse songs together to create Skint and Demoralised.

At the moment, their efforts are concentrated on making their debut album and they hopefully will be announcing live dates and release dates before the year is out.



The Thrill Of 30 Seconds

Red Lipstick

The Whitest Boy Alive

The whitest boy alive started as an electronic dance music project in 2003. The project has slowly developed into a band without any programmed elements.


I wouldn’t normally fall into the trap of electro unless it is rather good. So take The whitest boy alive, they are very good. The Berlin based band are a great minimal disco/electro/indie band. Their album 'Dreams' was released just before christmas.

If you like them, catch them next month in England:

19.05.08 // The Brighton Coalition Brighton
21.05.08 // Koko London


Burning

Golden Cage (Fred Falke Remix)


Also, I wouldn’t normally include a youtube video with a post, but this video for Burning is too good to miss.




Buy Dreams - HMV

First Glance: The Suggestions

http://www.myspace.com/thesuggestionsuk


The Suggestions are a great four piece from Sittingbourne. They make simple catchy indie/pop music that entitles you listen again and again. They have the upbeat tempo of The Metros and Underground Heroes and, with airplay from Radio 1, they are another band you can expect to hear more from. If you like these, vote for them to play at V Festival Here

'Bourne and Bred

Fashion Monkey


Buy Music By The Suggestions - Rough Trade

First Glance: Forty Fives

http://www.myspace.com/fortyfives


FortyFives are the sort of band that you imagine put the middle finger up to math rock and taking their own path. Ballsy but spindling guitar lines that you could imagine a spider weaving, joined with catchy lyrics that leave a imprint on your brain.

"FortyFives thrash out bolshy hell-raisers that mercilessly stamp on elegance and leave a burning fag-end prodded out on anything remotely resembling stylised music." - BBC

Not bad, you would say, for a band that consists of all four members still being in their teens. Hailing from Newbury, you’ll be hearing big things from these very soon.

No Change

Control

Blood Red Shoes - Box Of Secrets

http://www.myspace.com/bloodredshoes

http://www.bloodredshoes.co.uk


“Blood Red Shoes are like the impossibly cool kid you spy on your first day of Freshers’ Week. The one who has a vinyl copy of the Repo Man soundtrack under one arm and a battered notebook scrawled with declarations of love for Sonic Youth under the other.”

Box of Secrets starts with a blow to the head with ‘Doesn’t Matter Much’ and sizzles with the angst and energy that has not been seen in music since the turn of the millennium. But the hardcore element is not unnecessary. Box Of Secrets is still ultimately loveable. ‘You Bring Me Down’ kicks in and fly’s by like a bullet train not ready to stop anytime soon. Then there’s ‘Say Something, Say Anything. Once again heavy guitars and thumping drums accompany the current single. ‘I Wish I Was Someone Better’ then rattles through your brain, with the girl-boy duo collectively singing in harmony.
‘ADHD’ comes and goes, as does the thumping ‘It‘s Getting Boring By The Sea’ , and they are as catchy as the rest of the album, and as Box Of Secrets starts to come to it’s climax, you realise the whirlwinding greatness of what you have heard.
Box of Secrets doesn’t stop or halt at any turn with the heavy drums and jagged guitars whizzing round your head for the whole 40 minutes. Then again, why should it when it sounds this good?

You Bring Me Down

Say Something, Say Anything

Buy Box Of Secrets - HMV