not looking swell for 2009...

Cage the Elephant-Back Against The Wall
Former champions to the children of the NME, the madcap Kentuckians fail to top previous successes with their latest contribution of indefinable rock/pop/rap/blues/whatever. A darned shame after tales of rowdy live shows and what was shaping up to be a tasty back catalogue.

Tommy Sparks-I’m A Rope
Yet another Scandinavian joins the invasion reminding us of how precious few first-class musicians we’ve been producing on our fair isle of late. I’m A Rope sees a delicious mix of electro with it’s roots firmly planted in hip hop and all from a mildly geeky 31-year-old who reminds us distinctly of Russell Howard.

Skint and Demoralised-This Song Is Not About You
To go as far as to give the somewhat highbrow label ‘salt-of-the-earth, zeitgeist poetry’ to this northern lad struggling to manipulate syllables to fit in with his mate MiNI dOG’s agonizingly derivative music would require an intense stretch of the imagination. But then again, what are PR companies paid for?

Ida Maria-Oh My God
A sneaky shot at a re-release doesn’t detract from the upbeat, punching antidote this song, seen first time around in 2007, provides to all those starting-to-get-kind-of-irritating other female singers recently seen smeared over every ‘Hot for 2009’ list.


Kid British-Leave London EP
Note to a few narrow-minded critics: having a multi-racial rock band does not mean they’re The Specials. What Kid British actually are, although slightly more exciting than their indie-in-a-box peers with a dash of hip hop and just a smidgen of ska to warrant the comparisons, is sadly not enough to steer their destiny away from the inevitable finality of heading straight to the Skins soundtrack.