this week's post ...

Asher Roth
Lark On My Go Kart
Asleep In The Bread Isle new album 20 April
Loved by Lowe, Asher Roth is blazing a trail right now, his new album is to be found sitting pretty atop major supermarket CD displays. 'Lark On My Go-Kart' picks up where 'College' left off. It's another ode to the great false god of sex, a lazy 93bpm lob and at 2mins 50sex - a jolly tittilating listen (hope he lasts longer in the act).

Chapman Family
Kids new single 27 April
'The kids are not alright ... '. These kids sound pretty angry to me too. 'Kids' is a choppy changy grungy 173 - 87bpm affair with a stand out intro which is surprising to say the least, once the song starts you get the firm idea they're not happy. Chapman Family are a Teeside quartet, that's Middlesbrough, Stockton way and they dish up their distinct brand of "white noise and dark truth - feedback drenched punk". Their loves include The X-Factor and Sylvia Plath and you can see them on a seventeen date tour starting this week on Friday at The Camden Crawl. Good debut

Fast & Furious
Soundtrack Sampler new soundtrack album 13 April
The new Vin Diesel movie comes with a high powered soundtrack and five new tunes on this sampler. Pharrell, Busta Rhymes, MIA and Pitbull feature with Rye Rye and Shark City Click. The opening shot of aggression comes on the frenzied 123bpm 'Blanco', then Busta Rhymes 119bpm 'G Stro' (for the G spot), an uptempo MIA is to be heard on Rye Rye's 129bpm 'Bang' and follows her sentiment on 'Paper Planes' pretty precisely. Pitbull feature Lil John on the 126bpm 'Krazy' and Shark City Click wind down "stand back nigga, don't get your head bust" with the 90bpm 'Headbust'. Have democracy we'll give you hip hop and MTV, it'll be great!

FireFallDown
Commissioned new single 3 June
Hmm upbeat guitar based indie from Filipino Londoners! Their energetic live shows combine skate punk, Motown, and pop punk ... FireFallDown should attract some target interest with this their debut single, not mainstream though.

Kissy Sell Out
This Kiss new single 11 May
As many loved the Kissy Sell Out remix of the Noisettes 'Don't Upset The Rhythm' here comes theman's first legit single and it's a sweet 128bpm electro pop dance nugget. Kissy is another working DJ who's seen fit to put an occasional band together, he's on tour at the moment and will be in Cardiff with a DJ set at CYNT with Simian Mobile Disco on 3 May, see Kissy with his band at Underage Festival in London on 2 August. Top 40 potential

Prodigy
Warrior's Dance new single 25 May
Many requests for the 140bpm 'Warrior's Dance' since the 'Invaders' album's release so it's a worthy choice as new single. Prodigy's revisiting of an old skool stylee starts with a slowly building intro before we get the juice with a pumping edgy bass powered rhythm track and an effected vocal. On the back of a massive tour and as the number four hit 'Omen', now in it's eleventh chart week is continuing to get bigger each week this is going to be hugely popular, top ten again?

Yeah Yeah Yeah's
It's Blitz! new album 13 April
Just checking the vid for the excellent first single from YYY's new set and 'Zeroes' displays the increasing level of confidence Karen O and her chums must be feeling. Q magazine calls 'It's Blitz!' "spectacular" and certainly with it's stark image of an egg being crushed by a clenched fist you get an instant impression of what's to come. Three uptempo tunes made for the dancefloor open the set, the 126bpm 'Zero' then the 133bpm 'Heads Will Roll' ("off with your head dance til you're dead"), and the 124bpm 'Soft Shock'. Then the sombre 5 minute 48-95bpm 'Skeletons', old style Yeahs is showcased on the powerful 106bpm 'Dull Life', the 111bpm 'Shame & Fortune' and then the showstopper - the chilling 80bpm five minute 'Runaway' begins with a tinkling piano line builds to a crescendo with an orchestral sound and Karen's haunting vocal "can't help looking back, no sense of time, run run runaway, lost lost lost my mind". The album closes with the 103bpm 'Dragon Queen', the 133bpm 'Hysteric' and the delicately beautiful 39bpm accoustic 'Little Shadow'. When they played with us in Cardiff six or seven years back it would have been hard to predict they'd stay the course but this is one band maturing into a powerful niche of it's own, 'It's Blitz!' is packed with Karen's attitude and a well developed musical style which while still edgy as f+ck is more and more easily accessible to the main stream. Superb

last week's post ...

Ash
'Untitled' new white label sampler
Ash are back as raw and edgy as ever, this untitled track has a filthy sounding Stranglers bass sound and powers along around 125bpm, a fine appetizer for their new album due soon.

Death Cigarettes
Bleed You Dry / Tear Me Apart new single 11 May
YYY's / Siouxsie styled Maya and her Hull spawned band are now living in London creating a buzz with a live show full of energy and an unpredictability that sometimes see's only drummer Brian remaining on stage as they continue to play from the pit! The 156bpm 'Bleed You Dry' should consolidate their progress and attract indie airplay easily enough.

Gary Go
Open Arms new single 11 May
"Whatever happened to truth, lost without a trace, whatever happened to the mirror that showed me a happy face..." Gary Go returns with another great pop song, the follow-up to his top forty hit 'Wonderful'. The 132bpm 'Open Arms' on the revived Decca imprint label that forty years back gave us Tom Jones, Engelbert humperdink and Gilbert O'Sullivan continues this tradition of fine solo artist/performers. Gary's just toured with Take That and has his debut album 'Gary go' released on 25 May. Top pop, another top forty hit.

Glass Youth
Bottle After Bottle new free download single 27 April
The debut single from Barnsley based five piece Glass Youth , "You drink, you like to drink your life away, you like to drink your life away, yes you drink, you keep your demons right at bay, you know how to ruin your life, you got a real nice kid and a beautiful wife... " hmmm food or drink for thought eh? Glass Youth were previously known as The Headliners, they've supported Wombats, Subways, Holloways and Mark Ronson so maybe this jaunty 150bpm 3minute 20second tune will capture the spirit of the slowly emerging 'prohibitionists'. Nice tune.

Metro Station
Metro Station new album 6 April
Right from the opening track 'Seventeen Forever' you are struck by the pop quality of this offering. 'Shake It', a UK number six hit and the previous single 'Control' now surely due for a re-release give a good idea of the Metro Station sound and this album is packed with potential singles. The Cyrus family, from it's 'Achy Breaky Heart' days through to Miley's success and now Troy... wey hey hey it's Bobby McVay, where is he? He'd love this.

Passion Pit
The Reeling new single
Wow, a great stand-out intro in it's 3'30" radio edit and slow build full album version leads into a tasty solid Phil Collins style beat and frenetic yet controlled impassioned vocalising as you may expect from the band's name. Passion Pit's 112bpm single 'The Reeling' is a catchy melody, interesting vocals, an all together joyful affair and deserving of some success.

Patrick Wolf
Vultures new single 20 April
'Magic Position' man Patrick Wolf is back with another electro pop gem. 'The 138bpm 'Vultures' continues with the trademark sound he's created and justice be done should find help the Wolf man find his way into the top forty

Rumble Strips
London new free download single 20 April
London free download track
This is another fine new track from The Rumble Strips, a catchy tune which on the back of the ever popular 'Girls & Boys' could see them make a major chart inroad. V Good

Sugar Crisis
We Are Here To Save You new single 25 May
More electro here with Sugar Crisis, oft' compared to Tilly & The Wall. Sugary sweet female vocals disguise somewhat wry social commentary "we are here to save you, so take a chance". "We'll have a ball, drink alcohol, drink alcohol, drink alcohol, drink alcohol ....". Perhaps they should be on the same bill as the alcohol negative Glass Youth. 'Save us?', and there being an election soon too ... nice.

The Veronicas
Untouched new single 25 May
Two sisters Lisa and Jessica Origliasso - The Veronicas release their album 'Hook Me Up' on 8 june, from it their UK debut with 'Untouched' arrives a couple of weeks earlier. Already big names in their Australian homeland with a chart-topper and four follow-up hits these gals are now based in Los Angeles where 1.4 million Americans have already downloaded this track. The 176bpm 'Untouched' sounds great alongside Metro Station's 'Shake It' so look out The Veronica's are heading our way.