Better With Me - The Boobytraps

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Kicking off with a solid funky guitar this track drives like a freight train whose sole intention seems to be destroy everything in its path!

What we have here is an uplifting slice of modern psych-pop. This could almost have been recorded in the mid to late 1960's. It has a delicious British garage feel to it. Very similar to The Creation.

The mix of the guitars makes excellent use of the stereo field creating lots of space for the drums and a wickedly driven bass.
Guitar players, take note... This is how you generate power.
The vocals are both urgent and plaintiff with some great harmonies thrown in for good measure.

Picking up the baton that was dropped by a well known Manchester band and giving it a makeover, The Boobytraps deserve to reach a wider audience and, if this track is any indication, I'm sure that will only be a matter of time.

Epic 45s - The Relays

Let me be the first to tell you... Britpop is BACK... And it's back with a vengeance.

Enter The Relays... A 5 piece from Wigan fronted by Adam Redmond, who, incidentally, was the boy on the cover of the Oasis album, Masterplan.

So the track begins and within the first bar you know this is a hit. Bar 5 and your head is nodding. Briefly, I'm back in 1985 reminiscing about The Alarm - but no, this is different. It's smoother, almost laid back. It's being driven by a solid rhythm section, while the vocals float, almost effortlessly over the top. I really like the way the guitar parts play off each other, painting their own picture while the understated energy of the drums carries the weight and provides the backbone to this 3 minute slice of brilliance. Seldom has a title suited a song so perfectly, this is indeed an epic 45...

Yes this is pop music. Britpop music. Welcome back.

This Town - Loor a los Heroes

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This is a shining example of the timeless quality that the best music has.
Displaying a maturity that is well in advance of their years, this track starts the way it means to go on. Like a fury. With a deceivingly simple and melodic guitar line that bobs and weaves it's way throughout like a prize fighter. The bass and rhythm guitar forge an almost awkward groove which is resolved by some neat drumming to create a perfectly balanced backdrop.

The theme here is frustration. Frustration at both surroundings and circumstance... Handled yet again with the trademark tongue in cheek vocal delivery which makes Loor a los Heroes so appealling. All in all, musically, it pulls no punches as it drives you away from "This Town" and you can almost feel the wind in your hair!

Perfectly crafted, expertly executed, guitar driven lyrical pop. Superb. Genuine class.
Ordinarily I would recommend you go out and buy this track but you don't need to. It's available for FREE download. Now that's a bargain. So... what you waiting for?

She Don't Think So - Loor a los Heroes

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The jagged guitar intro sets a scene of faux jollity which is betrayed excellently by the lyrics which reading in isolation seem quite melancholy but here delivered with youthful humour! A double betrayal! This is a clever tool employed by the greats. Being an old fart, I appreciate the fact that the lyrics are actually telling me a story! And it is done with style. Musically it is extremely tight with no heroiocs, simply each part defined and justified. In my opinion just the way it should be.


There are obvious comparisons that can be made about who and what this song reminds you of (cough, Arctic Monkeys!)

That being said being said this track stands up very well in it's own right. I'm hearing lots of similarities to artists such as Buzzcocks, Television, combined with the wit and guile of Billy Bragg.

To make any such comparison is kind of unfair because these guys will undoubtedly carve out their own path.

This certainly falls in to the category of best played as loud as possible and, as I have found today, it is great to drive to as well. Double win.

Emily J - Ghost

S.G.R. Productions

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Aptly titled, this track floats in on the breeze like a friendly spirit, takes you by the hand and leads you on a magical journey through the clouds.

Emily J's voice, likewise, is like a whisper on the wind and adds splendidly to the mood. The sparse musical arrangement is haunting in it's simplicity.

This is mature music very much in the vain of Nerina Pallot with perhaps a more folky edge reminiscent of Judie Tzuke. The only negative point I can find is that it seems to be over all too soon but maybe that's a good thing. To be left wanting more.