Turn Tail is the third song to come from The Young Knives most recent album Superabundance. The band are well reputed for their frantic punky tunes and geeky lyrics, so I was quite surprised that the band released this track.

Patty Lee starts off really well - lots of ska-tinged guitar licks teamed with Tim Harrington's thoughtful lyrics. Halfway through though, the song starts to get a bit self-indulgent and repetitive. I was quite glad when the song finished to be honest.

If you're into art-school indie, you'll definitely dig this song, but I was a little bit bored by it. I think the group need to come and drink some Stella Artois in the park with me sometime.

Overall

Links

• www.lessavyfav.com

Permalink to 'Review: Les Savy Fav - Patty Lee'

If you can accept the fact that anything Stephen Malkmus does is going to sound a lot like Pavement, you'll like this record. This time around, it's backing band Jicks who supply the ambiguous blues-y jam rock that serves to showcase Malkmus' ever quirky lyrics.

Supposedly, Real Emotional Trash has been hailed as one of the best releases of 2008 and among the greatest things Malkmus has ever recorded (including Pavement). That's well out of order. At best, it's sub-prime Pavement and most tracks run way too long. But there are a few gems on there. Probably best suited for Pavement fans and 90's slacker rock devotees.

Highlights

• Dragonfly Pie
• Baltimore
• Gardenia

Overall

Video

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Okay - time for a confession. I really, really, REALLY liked The Feeling's previous single, I Thought It Was Over. As naff as it is to like them, I thought this song was a big cheesy, camp slice of awesome disco pop. I'll get me coat.

Actually, I'll get my coat later, as I have to review their next single, Without You. This song is a slower, ballad-esque tune, with soaring violins and the Feeling's trademark lyrics about the darker side of love. The camp, cheesy disco is still there, but it had definitely been slowed down slightly. Okay, it might take you a few listens to get into this, but it is incredibly enjoyable nonetheless.

Overall

Permalink to 'Review: The Feeling - Without You'

Turn Tail is the third song to come from The Young Knives most recent album Superabundance. The band are well reputed for their frantic punky tunes and geeky lyrics, so I was quite surprised that the band released this track.

Turn Tail is slightly less frantic than the bands previous offerings - but this doesn't necessarily make it bad. Sure, the song starts off a bit slowly, but it does build up into an earnest rock tune, with crashing drums and catchy lyrics a-plenty.

If you've been scared of The Young Knives music in the past, this might be a great place to start getting into them. Plus their bassists is called the House of Lords, which might possibly make them one of the most awesome bands ever by default.

Overall

Links

• www.myspace.com/theyoungknives
• www.theyoungknives.com

Permalink to 'Review: The Young Knives - Turn Tail'

Sunderland rockers The Futureheads are on form, it would seem - 'The Beginning Of The Twist' is a pithy slice of northern post-punk at its best.

I was prepared for yet another bland guitar-led 3-minute exercise in mundanity - but I was to be surprised with a sharply produced pop song that holds an edge without being inaccessible.

This is the first single from the album 'This Is Not The World' - and if the rest of it is anything like The Beginning, it should be worth checking out.

Overall

Permalink to 'Review: The Futureheads - The Beginning of the Twist'

Alt rockers Jimmy Eat World's latest release to hit the UK chart is Always Be - the second single taken from their fifth album, 'Chase The Light'.

To be honest, I'm really not sure how this sort of thing even qualifies as 'alternative' - it's about as middle-of-the-road as you can get. Inoffensive lyrics, standard issue guitar rhythm and archetypical angsty lyrics about some girl or something. It's the perfect radio-friendly song - and I don't mean this in any good sense.

I guess by the time a band reaches their fifth album they've perfected their individual sound - it's just a shame Jimmy Eat World sound just like everybody else.

Overall

Permalink to 'Review: Jimmy Eat World - Always Be'

Fellow Mancunian Doug Walker was a relative unknown before the release of 'The Mystery', his first single - but thanks to some creative stalking of Radio 1 DJ's Chris Moyles and subsequent airplay has found his initial chart success.

The song is a high-impact vocal piano track with boundless energy - no doubt the perfect sort of uplifting track for its initial 7.20am playback. It's not the most artful song ever, nor the most original, but as a debut it could be a sign of greater things to come.

Overall

Permalink to 'Review: Doug Walker - The Mystery'

Perhaps taking a page out of the success of the Pussycat Dolls with their highly-produced upbeat songs, the Sugababes hit the chart with their sassy-sounding 21st single - 'Denial'.

The production is more aggressive than their previous releases - the drums and quicker pace of the backing track mean that the music leads the vocals - rather than the other way round, as per the earlier, more soulful songs such as 'Run for Cover'. It sounds out of place - with a remix / slowdown, this could be a worthy, soulful acoustic piece - but I guess that might not be as saleable.

In a way, this depreciates their strongest selling point - the vocals are somewhat lost, bland against the stronger music. Any nuance of harmony or soul are lost - a trick that works for recent souless girl groups, but a crying shame for the erstwhile demonstrated talent of the Sugababes.

Overall

Permalink to 'Review: Sugababes - Denial'

I've said it before and I'll say it again. It's a stupid name.

Find The Time is the first single from Sam Duckworth's second album 'Searching for the Hows and Whys', and it's a mature acoustic-led slice of popular indie-folk.

It starts as a delicate, lone-guitar ballad, and builds (and pleasingly so) into an upbeat, nice-sounding and fully-fledged indie pop song.

It's short, unpretentious, and despite my best efforts to hate someone who records under such a stupid monicker, I quite like it.

Overall

Permalink to 'Review: Get Cape Wear Cape Fly - Find The Time'

Ah, remixes. Naught better during lean times to fall back on resampling old classics - and I must confess, I'm a bit of a fan of the old classic Utah Saints' Something Good. It takes me back to a more honest age of computer music, rough-edged samples and synths, with more of an exploratory sound.

Sad indeed, then, that this particular classic - despite the familiar Kate Bush sample - has just been doused in mediocre electro with an over-compressed club-friendly beat.

I love the original, but this is just nostalgia for clubbers. You might be better off scouring eBay for the original 1992 12" release.

Overall

Permalink to 'Review: Utah Saints - Something Good '08'