Radiohead

Little John's Farm

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Radiohead

Radiohead are:

• Thom Yorke - vocals, guitar, keyboards
• Ed O'Brien - guitar
• Jonny Greenwood - guitar, keyboards
• Colin Greenwood - bass
• Phil Selway - drums

Radiohead were one of the finest indie bands of the 90s. Forming in 1986, the five-piece's first single proper, 'Creep', attracted international attention, and their debut album Pablo Honey (1993) was a commercial success. Its straightforward indie-rock formula would be twisted and matured for the follow-up, though - The Bends (1995) is widely regarded as a masterpiece.

Even that album - which spawned singles including 'Street Spirit (Fade Out)', 'High & Dry'/'Planet Telex' and 'Just' - was later surpassed in critical acclaim by OK Computer (1997). Radiohead's third album was their first to go to number one in the UK, and was voted the best album of all time by Q magazine in 2006. It was shortlisted for the 1997 Mercury Music Prize, named the number one album of the 1990s by US zine Pitchfork, and recognised as one of the greatest LPs of all time by TIME in 2006.

OK Computer's influence can be heard in a number of other acts, from Coldplay through to TV On The Radio. Cover albums featuring OK Computer songs performed in wholly different styles, such as reggae, have been released.

Since Ok Computer, all of Radiohead's long-players have reached number one in the UK album chart, even if they've not always been as universally lauded as the band's third album. Their album releases since 1997 are as follows:

Kid A (2000)
Amnesiac (2001)
Hail To The Thief (2003)
In Rainbows (2007)

The band parted company with original label Parlophone before the release of In Rainbows, which the group famously self-released as a pay-what-you-want digital download and deluxe 'discbox' package, available from their own website. They later signed with XL to release In Rainbows through traditional channels. It reached number one in the UK album chart on its first week of 'proper' release, in January 2008.

To date, Radiohead have sold over 25 million albums worldwide. Well done them.

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Placebo

Placebo are...

• Brian Molko - vocals, guitar
• Stefan Olsdal - bass
• Steve Hewitt - drums
• Robert Schultzberg - drums (left 1997)

Observe. In 1996, with the UK stuffed to the gills with stodgy leftovers from britpop, Placebo were a psychosexual freakshow of ambiguous sexuality (and, to the casual observer, gender). They were such only two years on from their debut and 12 months after their first single (‘Bruise Pristine’ on Fierce Panda, late 1995!) they squelched into the charts at Number Four with ‘Nancy Boy’ and went gold with their superbly atmospheric eponymous debut album.

In 1998, when the nod from Weller or Noel was the golden ticket to stodge-rock superstardom, Placebo were a lone beacon of narcotic glamour - hanging out with Marilyn Manson and Bowie and making cameos in the glam rock movie Velvet Goldmine. Placebo’s darkly seductive second album Without You I’m Nothing sold over a million copies and a Top 5 single with ‘Pure Morning’.

By 2000 and the triumphant, Blondie-flecked electro-punk-pop of Black Market Music’, the devout Placebo faithful were legion on all continents. Come the end of the tour in October 2001, having spent six years challenging everything from homophobia to medical thinking about drugs being dangerous and winning, Placebo had nothing else to challenge but themselves. Within a month of getting home the threesome had bought identical mini-studios and begun toying with ideas for the fourth album, circulating musical sketches on CD. Six months later they had 25 songs demo’d, and hit a string of UK studios starting with Townhouse in July 2002, recording for a total of four months with - bizarrely - UNKLE and DJ Shadow producer Jim Abbiss. One imagines the Blur/Fatboy Slim collaboration but with the ability to rock skyscrapers to the ground. From that, Sleeping With Ghosts, their fourth album, was born.

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Bloc Party

Original DiS biog:

Bloc Party (they were formerly listed on these pages under the name Union) are a four piece from London who peddle a fine line of taut riffology, sounding not unlike that ever-popular New York five piece duelling with Fugazi in an art rock-shaped blender. With tunes to boot. Dynamic, wirey entertainment.

Think: Gang Of Four, The Cure, The Strokes and all that schtick. They are fab.

Bloc Party are:

Kele Okereke - vocals, guitar
Russell Lissack - guitar, floppy hair
Gordon Moakes - bass and backing vocals
Matt Tong - drums, ties

After much A&R battling, they signed to Wichita in the UK for their record deal, and EMI for their publishing. They are also signed to Vice in the USA.

NEW DiS biog:

We first stumbled across Bloc Party when they played under the name The Angel Range as the first-on at Camden’s Dublin Castle at the tail end of 2002. We don’t actually remember much of it back then. They weren’t all that.

In fact, when DiS properly ‘stumbled across’ Bloc Party they were, for some unfathomable but thankfully short-lived reason, called Diet. They’d emailed and asked if they could send a demo and where it should be sent to. An unusually on-form DiS journo said “I’ll have that”. By the time the demo (on a plain CDR without even a track-listing to its name) reached us they’d changed the name to Union. It was, to use a journalistic cliché, like someone had fed The Strokes some very good amphetamines and introduced them to The Cure. It made us go ping! and then some. The tracks were This Is Not A Competition and The Answer. It got reviewed, and there was some rejoicing. “We’ve been offered gigs and everything,” Kele later said. Come mid-2003 and there was a second demo. Union and their friends Redjetson sat their arses in DiS’ new Stoke Newington abode and set about posting their CDs in packages together to various ‘industry’ folk. “Right messy bastards, they were,” one witness was heard to comment.

In the meantime, Kele had read with interest about a new band called Franz Ferdinand. They sounded like they were into the same sort of things as Union, so he went to one of their gigs. Spotting Radio One/6 Music DJ Steve Lamacq in the crowd, he handed him a CD. One was also thrust into the hands of Franz. Lamacq played the track She’s Hearing Voices on his Radio 1 show, declaring the song “genius” and inviting them to record a live session. At this point, the music industry’s ears began to pick up. By September, the band had discovered another Union in east London, so changed their name to Bloc Party – based on housing block parties (minus the ‘k’, just for aesthetic reasons) rather than anything to do with the Eastern Bloc – and got invited to play Franz’s now-legendary ‘warehouse’ gig at the Electrowerkz in London’s Angel, as part of the Domino label’s anniversary celebrations. Around this time they were also whoring themselves out to any venue that would have them, sometimes playing several London gigs in a week. That year they were to play no less than five times for DiS and DiS promotions offshoot Last Band Standing, including a hastily arranged gig at Brixton Windmill with Twisted Charm which saw them play to 12 people and barely covering the £40 they needed for the taxi in which the drums were carried. In December that year they played the Barfly with Youthmovie Soundtrack Strategies and Reagan (now called Fans Of Kate), where they were seen for the first time by Simon White, the one-time Menswe@r guitarist (ask your big brother) who is now Bloc Party’s manager, at which he rejoices.

2004 is when things really did go crazy. The A&R men pounced on them and deals were offered left, right and centre. Before anything was signed they put out She’s Hearing Voices on 7” on Trash Aesthetics, the label run by a couple of young chaps called Rob and Tim (the latter had promoted the first ever Angel Range gig at the Verge in Kentish Town). After that came another one-off single for Moshi Moshi, entitled Banquet, which some people had the nerve to compare to The Police. The accompanying video was a low-budget b&w affair in which Kele looked utterly paranoid. Shoved on the road to learn their craft, they played a few dates with Graham Coxon. There was rejoicing at this. After all, he is God.

The band signed their publishing to The Man (aka EMI) but their record deal came from the cool, creative indie label Wichita. And there was more rejoicing. The first fruit for Wichita was the single Little Thoughts, a live favourite, at which point the hype for the band was creeping up to fever pitch. It hit the Top 40. And there was more rejoicing. It was followed up the frantic guitar duelling of Helicopter - its name chosen purely because Kele liked the word and not because XTC had a song of the same name – which became their first Top 30 hit. And, you guessed it, we all did rejoice just that little bit harder. Their ‘proper’ TV debut came not long after on BBC2’s almost-legendary ‘Later…’, which saw them guest alongside Interpol and Elton John amongst others. A truly bizarre moment. They played Helicopter and another live fave, the equally frantic Like Eating Glass.

At time of writing, their Paul Epworth-produced debut album Silent Alarm was due for release – copies having already been leaked onto the internet. There’s no doubt that 2005 is the year Bloc Party become absolutely massive. Brixton Windmill to Brixton Academy in the space of a 18 months is pretty good going.

by adie nunn, january 2005»

Arctic Monkeys

Alex Turner: guitar/vocals
Jamie Cook: guitar
Andy Nicholson: bass (left 2006)
Matt Helders: drums
Nick O'Malley: bass

Formed back in 2002 and hailing from the High Green area of Sheffield, Arctic Monkeys were the success story of 2006. Their first two singles, 'I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor' and 'When The Sun Goes Down' reached number one, and their debut album Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not also climbed to the top of the albums chart in its first week. It's the fastest-selling debut album in British history (as of February 2007). NME has named it the fifth-greatest UK album of all time.

The name? Says Helders: "Jamie just always wanted to be in a band called Arctic Monkeys. Which is a cool name." (Prefix Magazine).

The fame? They don't like it, still. Before they were signed, the band banned talent scouts from their shows. Like peers Bloc Party, Arctic Monkeys have never seemed wholly at home in front of camera lenses and when a journalist comes a-snooping.

The band's MySpace site - "[When we went number one in England] we were on the news and radio about how MySpace has helped us. But that's just the perfect example of someone who doesn’t know what the fuck they’re talking about. We actually had no idea what it was" (Prefix Magazine)- is here. Tellingly (?), its headline reads 'Don't believe the hype'.

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Kaiser Chiefs

Formed:
Early 2003 in Leeds

Influences:
Beach Boys, Super Furry Animals, The Kinks, XTC, Beta Band, Blur, Supergrass, 10CC, Small Faces, Dexys Midnight Runners, Madness (but only the good stuff)

Interesting Facts:
Andrew is an ex-BMX Champion.
Nick and Ricky run an exciting club night in Leeds called Pigs.
Simon, Nick and Nick were all in the same class at school.
The 3 track demo was recorded, mixed and mastered by the band in Nick's flat.

Also we're fed up of the American/ Swedish/ Australian bands that have dominatated for the last two years so we decided to be totally different, basically by listening to loads of the stuff listed above and copying it!»

Fall Out Boy

Emo twerps. Gonna be huge in 2006. Yup.

Website»

Yeah Yeah Yeahs

Yeah Yeah Yeahs are...

• Karen O - vocals
• Nick Zinner - guitar
• Brian Chase - drums

Indie-punk with the feminine touch, all the way from the big apple.

Photo by Sonia Melot»

Kings of Leon

Jared Followill - bass
Matthew Followill - lead guitar
Nathan Followill - drums/vocals
Caleb Followill - guitar/vocals

This is not some weird Duran Duran-style coincidence - yes, they are related. Three brothers and one cousin from Tennessee.»

The Prodigy

• Keith Flint - vocals
• Maxim Reality - vocals
• Liam Howlett - keyboards
• Leeroy Thornhill - vocals

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Deftones

Sacramento-spawned experimental metallers.

Deftones are...

• Camillo 'Chino' Moreno - vocals
• Stephen Carpenter - guitar
• Chi Cheng - bass
• Frank Delgado - turntables
• Abe Cunningham - drums

Formed back in 1988 (albeit not in their current five-person line-up), Deftones have been challenging preconceptions about the metal genre ever since their 1995 debut, Adrenaline. Their breakthrough album, Around The Fur (1997), saw them step up to the international stage; the album spawned the hit singles 'Be Quiet And Drive (Far Away)' and 'My Own Summer (Shove It)'. The band's next LP, 2000's White Pony, was a more ambient affair than any preceding material - it was met by confusion in certain critical circles, but is generally regarded as one of the finest left-of-centre metal releases of the last decade. A single, 'Back To School', received a lot of MTV play, and is included on certain editions of White Pony.

The band's self-titled 2003 album saw them continue to push away from typical metal structures - although riffs were still heavy, and vocals coarse, many more atmospheric facets became obvious. In 2006 the band release Saturday Night Wrist, their fifth long-player. It's preceded by a single, 'Hole In The Earth'

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AFI

A Fire Inside are:

• Davey Havok - vocals
• Jade Puget - guitar
• Hunter - bass
• Adam Carson - drums

The origins and history of AFI are as humble as they are passionate, beginning with the meaning and philosophy behind the acronym now known to an ever-growing legion of fans the world over: A Fire Inside.

Over 10 years on and counting, the same inner flame that fueled four teenagers making a primal noise in a Ukiah, Calif., garage has propelled AFI to unforeseen musical and professional levels, as evident on Sing The Sorrow, due out March 11, 2003, on DreamWorks Records. "We've been doing this for a long time, and we love it more than anything," says AFI singer Davey Havok"To play music you're passionate about every night - it's like a dream. Sometimes you get sick; sometimes you get really tired, but I can't imagine doing anything else with my life"

If long player Sing The Sorrow is any indication, Havok won't have to worry about doing anything else for a long time. Co-produced by Jerry Finn (Rancid, Green Day, Jawbreaker) and Butch Vig (Nirvana, Smashing Pumpkins), the record retains the Bay Area outfit's signature aggression and pathos - forging ever forward into uncharted territory like the virtuoso guitar intro of "The Leaving Song Pt. 2" or the industrial-leaning break and Dead Can Dance-worthy outro of "Death Of Seasons"

Meanwhile, from its sublime intro through beautifully subdued verses and infectious choruses, first radio track "Girl's Not Grey" is a standout that both recalls AFI coming into its own on 2000's The Art Of Drowning and hints at a myriad of future directions. For the purists, "Dancing Through Sunday" and "Bleed Black" come strapped with generous chant-along opportunities and heavy-as-hell, bolt-tight riffs and rhythms. And as with virtually every track on Sing The Sorrow, these are all imbued with alternately brooding and celebratory lyrical imagery of rebirth, resurrection, apocalypse, all somehow deeply personal - in other words, classic AFI. "We've always been able to do anything we want," says guitarist Jade Puget. "The credit for that goes to both the band and our fans: to us for striving not to sound like anyone else, and to our fans for embracing those changes and looking forward to the new directions each new record will take"

"It also comes from never having any other choice but to do everything ourselves," Havok adds. "We never planned or had any expectation of assistance from anyone else. And thanks to that work ethic, we were able to grow slowly and naturally so that when others gradually took an interest in what we were doing, whether it was Nitro [Records] or DreamWorks or whoever, they realized they couldn't change us even if they wanted to"

Although AFI first surfaced in 1992, on Dork, a split 7" with fellow Ukiah High School students Loose Change (featuring future AFI guitarist Jade), it wouldn't be until the band's third full-length, 1997's Shut Your Mouth And Open Your Eyes, that bassist Hunter (ex-The Force) would enlist. And it would be later still that the present AFI lineup would coalesce, with the addition of Jade (by then ex-Redemption 87) on the defining and now-classic fourth album, Black Sails In The Sunset, and the subsequent All Hallow's EP. The latter would give AFI its first taste of exposure beyond its long-cultivated cult following when the Offspring's cover of the EP's "Totalimmortal" appeared on the Me, Myself & Irene soundtrack and, in turn, on Modern Rock playlists nationwide. A year later, "Days Of The Phoenix," from The Art Of Drowning, would do the same, albeit with the band playing its own composition this time.

"I was completely in awe then - and still am now - to hear any of our songs on the radio," says Hunter. "The fact that radio would pick up on us based solely on the quality of the music is still difficult for me to fathom, as is everything positive that's happened for us. It all seems to have come naturally from our efforts, and honestly, that's really hard for me to comprehend"

In the meantime, AFI's live draw increased exponentially, and with good reason: To witness the AFI live experience is to understand both that unique internal chemistry and the undeniable bond between band and audience that has been honed and strengthened through nearly seven years of non-stop worldwide touring. Favorites from Black Sails, The Art Of Drowning and the All Hallow's and A Fire Inside EPs typically find the band fighting to be heard over the din of the chanting crowd, every song received with a rabid enthusiasm that possesses the players, the songs and the audience alike. It's a primal, almost tribal experience, one that via word of mouth has tickets for the band's already sold-out early 2003 shows eliciting eBay bids of more than $300 a pair.

"Touring has always been the most important thing for us," says drummer Adam Carson, who co-founded the band with Havok in the early '90s. "We basically created our fan base by touring non-stop" "I've been touring since I was 19 years old," Havok continues. "We were always of the mind that if two people showed up the first time we played somewhere, we'd go back until there were 10, then 30, then hundreds or thousands. We would keep coming back until they were forced to take notice"

As regaled as their live show has been, however, the members of AFI make it clear that there was no attempt to replicate it on Sing The Sorrow. "That's a big priority for so many other bands," says Jade, "but it's never been a concern for us. If anything, it's the other way around; at least for me, it's about creating the song in the writing and recording process, then hoping it'll translate live, rather than road-testing the new songs, then hoping we can 'capture the live vibe' in the studio" Instead, the band prioritizes making the best and most adventurous record possible time and again, this time with the more-than-able assistance of the aforementioned Finn and Vig (both of whom Jade recalls as "so cool and affable from the very beginning," explaining, "There was never any kind of 'star producer' vibe"). "I think the progression from The Art Of Drowning to the new record is similar to the leap between Shut Your Mouth and Black Sails," says Havok. "People familiar with our previous records are going to notice a marked growth. The songs are far more complex, the performances are superior, there are some ambient and electronic elements, which we've never done before, and vocally, I pushed myself to extremes I'd never achieved before, both in terms of aggression and melancholy"

"Everybody says, 'This is our best record yet!' every time they come out with something new," Jade concludes. "I know it's a total cliché, but in our case, we're always pleased with our latest record because each one is different from the previous one. The fact is, this time we had more time and put more effort into writing and recording and I believe that really translates"

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Lostprophets

LostProphets are...

• Ian Watkins - vocals
• Lee Gaze - guitar
• Mike Lewis - guitar
• Stuart Richardson - bass
• Jamie Oliver - turntables
• Mike Chiplin - drums

"We've all been playing in bands since we were like 14, so we have a lot of history. We started out just playing metal covers at friends parties, and things went from there. People came and went, we changed our name a lot. We met people from different musical backgrounds, like DJ's and stuff. We basically kept evolving until we were happy with what we were doing, and decided to take it a more seriously. We formed late '97, did a demo and sent it to Metal Hammer. We were kinda combining every style of music we liked, in no particular order. We had a DJ and a sax player, just messing round. The demo received a 10/10 review, so we sat back and waited for a deal, ha ha. That never came, so we did a second one, early '98, which was even weirder. That got out to a few zines. But it was all kinda tongue in cheek. Just us fuckin' around. Somehow we got a little feature in Kerrang! and played a Kerrang! night. We spent most of 99 doing other stuff. I graduated and some of the others went travelling etc. When we got back we did a new demo and sent it off to the only record label address we had. They were interested and offered us a deal. A lot of people have said that we shouldn't have gone for the first deal but we just wanted to get out there and not mess about. So far it's been good. We'll see how it goes."

Since then, alot has happened: Their debut thefakesoundofprogress sold brilliantly, and led them on to their second album Start Something. This also sold brilliantly, and led them onto filling stadiums. New album Liberation Transmission also bodes well for sales. Great.»

Rise Against

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Metric

Metric have always been a band who can adapt to any surroundings, make them their own and produce something brilliant. You might not imagine a bank to be an environment particularly conducive to creativity, but if a couple of months back you had ventured upstairs into the space above a certain financial establishment in Toronto, Canada, you would have come across a group of musicians birthing an incredible record, relishing the freedom they found their newest base to have given them rather than feeling any of the constraints you might expect. That group was Metric, and the record is their second album 'Live it Out'.

"We made the first album (2003's 'Old World Underground, Where are You') in Los Angeles, in the daytime, with a producer, which was kind of weird for us," says singer/synth player/mouthpiece Emily Haines. "But this time, with the space above the bank we had unlimited time and worked by ourselves at night. We did everything exactly the way we wanted and so this record feels much more representative of who we are."

Indeed, that Metric's second album was made in their hometown (with moral support from equally creative locals and childhood friends Broken Social Scene and Stars) certainly shows - 'Live It Out' exudes the unmistakable, natural, confident feel of a band who now know exactly what they're all about, having spent 2004 and 2005 growing together, living in ever-changing environments. One month they’d be sharing a flat in NYC with like-minded souls Yeah Yeah Yeahs and Liars, the next playing sold out residencies in Toronto; Emily would be playing solo piano shows in churches, while the band supported the Rolling Stones at Madison Square Garden. Make no mistake, Emily, guitarist (and now sole producer) Jimmy Shaw, bassist Josh Winstead and drummer Joules Scott Key have been together for long enough in enough different environments (including both London and New York) to know when something feels right. And this time it does.

If the LA-birthed 'Old World Underground, Where Are You' was the sound of Metric experimenting and trying to find their feet, 'Live It Out' is their vision fully realised, untainted by outside interference. ("The record company didn't interfere for even one minute," Emily laughs, "we just delivered it to them and that was it!"). So from the ever-evolving, six minute opener 'Empty', through 'Poster Of A Girl''s blend of paranoid, sung-in-French couplets and pulsating electro, the feedback-drenched 'Monster Hospital' (featuring the refrain "I fought the war but the war won") and the new wave fuzz of the climatic title track, 'Live It Out' is an album that takes many disparate influences and fuses them into a brilliantly coherent statement. Recalling at times the anything-goes attitude of Sonic Youth ("We played with them in Paris and they really inspired us as people," notes Emily), its ten tracks are at once thrilling, disturbing and unique. Without question, Metric have made a record with which they can now introduce themselves to the wider world.

"We've been allowed to be ourselves and that really shows," enthuses Emily. "All the bands that have ever inspired us never sounded like anyone else - that's what we were aiming to do this time around. With 'Live It Out' we've definitely achieved that."

ilovemetric.com
myspace.com/metricband

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Billy Talent

• Ben Kowalewicz
• Ian D'Sa
• Jon Gallant
• Aaron Solowoniuk

North American 'punks' Billy Talent are a rising 'talent'. After having to change their name due to legal wranglings, the quartet set out to dominate the world, and got a helping hand from Atlantic and Warner Music.»

Brand New

• Jesse Lacey - vocals, guitar
• Brian Lane - drums
• Garrett Tierney - bass
• Vin Accardi - guitar

Spanking new itself, Brand New hails from the pre-fab Long Island suburb of Levittown, New York. The group formed in 2000 when neighborhood pals Jesse Lacey (vocals/guitar), Brian Lane (drums) and Garrett Tierney (bass) joined forces after spending their teens knocking around in less fortunate musical outfits. The finishing touch came soon after with the addition of Vinnie Accardi (guitar).

Every corner the foursome turns reveals unfamiliar territory -- from learning to write songs together to sloshing through the political morass that is the music industry to the breakneck tour pace (which can also be credited with the invention of a cost-effective delicacy known as the Froot Loops sandwich). Through it all Brand New thrives, and Lacey admits, “(Our goal) has kinda been reached already. We’ve far exceeded anything we ever really thought was going to happen.”

Remaining unbothered by the downpour of critics’ labels that so often washes away the true nature of a band is another refreshing spin that Brand New offers. With its inspired drive, smarting wit (“And even if her plane crashes tonight she'll find some way to disappoint me, by not burning in the wreckage, or drowning at the bottom of the sea”), three-part harmonies and eyebrow-raising dynamism, Brand New has been called many things. Punk? Emo? Pop? As far as Lacey’s concerned, call it gangsta rap or jazz if you want, but just give it a chance. He laughs, “We’re just a rock band I guess, or a hard rock band, or a not-so-hard rock band. Whatever. For the most part, it’s about four kids trying to make music -- trying is the key word.”

Catching Brand New in concert sets the record straight. The band more than just tries, it rocks. Playing with the same riotous confidence and rambunctious aplomb that its basement rehearsal space witnesses on a regular basis, Lacey and company take stage bouncing like amped-up SuperBalls. There’s so much sweat and splendor that not only has it impressed crowds, it’s also impressed touring companions such as Dashboard Confessional, Face to Face, Hot Rod Circuit and A New Found Glory.

So there it is. Isn’t it all appealing? Music that balances catchy melodies with smirking dark lyrics ("Have another drink and drive yourself home/I hope there’s ice on all the roads/And you can think of me when you forget your seatbelt/and again when your head goes through the windshield/Is that what you call tact/You're about as subtle as a brick in the small of my back.”). A live show that’s actually worth seeing. Isn’t it all Brand New?»

Faith No More

Formed in the early 80's Faith No More raced through a multitude of lineups - including an embroyonic Courtney Love - before recording their first album in 1985. In 1990 Mike Patton joined the group and they released the breakthrough album "The Real Thing". They split in 1997 and Patton still records with Tomahawk, Fantomas, Mr. Bungle, Lovage and a multitude of other bands. »

Maximo Park

Northeastern indie-rockers with a dash of artiness, poetry and synth in their wired, poppy sound.

Paul Smith (vocals)
Duncan Lloyd (guitar)
Archis Tiku (bass guitar)
Lukas Wooller (keyboards)
Tom English (drums)

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New Found Glory

• Jordan Pundik - vocals
• Ian Grushka - bass
• Chad Gilbert - guitar
• Steve Klein - guitar
• Cyrus Bolooki - drums

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Vampire Weekend

MySpace

Vampire Weekend is:
Ezra Koenig, Rostam Batmanglij, Christopher Tomson, Chris Baio

In their words:
We are specialists in the following styles: "Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa", "Upper West Side Soweto", "Campus", and "Oxford Comma Riddim".

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The Rakes

Alan Donohoe - Vocals
Matthew Swinnerton - Guitar/Backing Vocals
Jamie Hornsmith - Bass
Lasse Petersen - Drums

(nicked from clubfandango.co.uk)

The Rakes are a spindly-framed quartet from East London with a set of songs that have drawn rave comparisons to the likes of PIL, Wire and Joy Division. No longer dressed in blood stained uniforms, The Rakes are still unashamedly political and their live experience is, by turns, chaotic, funny, charming, silly, serious, beautiful, moving, aggressive, effeminate, sublime and ridiculous.»

The Crystal Method

During the four years since The Crystal Method recorded their debut best-selling album, Vegas, the Los Angeles music duo have spent the last two years on the road, playing to Surfers in Sydney, Midwestern kids in warehouses Stateside, through to the Versace fashion shows in Milan, Italy. The Crystal Method have also played Sydney¹s massive Big Day Out festival (like Homelands), watch this space for news of UK dates! TCM¹s music has appeared on major motion picture soundtracks (Spawn, South Park, Lost In Space and most recently the Blade2 soundtrack with Bubba Sparxx) and video game scores (Nitrous Oxide). Scott Kirkland and Ken Jordan are due to be honoured at The Hardrock Cafe in Vegas, to unveil their own customised case - the only other dance-orientated artist to be given this honour is Paul Oakenfold, Dark, twisted and deeply sexy Tweekend takes everything that is great about Vegas and makes it even better»

Atreyu

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Funeral For A Friend

• Matt Davies - vocals
• Kris Roberts - guitar
• Ryan Richardson - drums
• Darran Smith - guitar
• Gareth Davies - bass

Formed from the ashes of January Thirst, Funeral for a Friend have only been together in this incarnation for a relatively short period of time and are already gaining a strong fan base through their energetic and honest performances.

January Thirst died in early December 2001 when one of their two vocalists decided to quit the band. Matthew Evans (vocals) and Johnny Phillips (Drums) immediately called up Matt Davies and asked if he would be interested in trying out for the vacant singer position, not really one to turn down an opportunity he agreed, came along to practice and belted out some tunes with the rest of the band. Later that day he was in. Huddled in their practice space every week the band started to focus on writing material that combined the power of hardcore and metal with the melodic backbone of the punk and emo scene. With a diverse set of influences, the songs written were a solid indication of the new direction that the band were taking gaining comparisons to the likes of Boy Sets Fire, Waterdown, Poison the Well and more. The band changed their name to Funeral for a Friend.

During the start of the New Year they parted ways with second guitarist Kerry Roberts and found a suitable replacement in Darran Smith (ex-Tripcage) and the band entered Mighty Atom Studios to record four tracks for a proposed self financed EP with another Welsh band From This Moment On…, upon hearing these tracks, Mighty Atom approached the band and offered a two album deal. Since then they have been on the road throughout the UK promoting the EP including supports with the likes of The Lost Prophets, ThisGirl and Movielife.»

Crystal Castles

Punky Gameboy bitXcore from FASHIONABLE Canada.

www.myspace.com/crystalcastles»

Patrick Wolf

Having been born in County Cork, grown up in London and travelled across Europe in an orchestra, eleven-year-old Patrick Wolf was something of an eccentric, escaping from school troubles on a stolen four-track with viola in hand.

After running from home as a young'un to reside in a run-down lodging on the Richmond riverside, he soon garnered the attentions of Fat Cat Records, who provided Wolf with given an Atari and mixing desk to start recording songs 'properly'.

He found the writings of Angela Carter and the music of Joni Mitchell to be a great inspiration - the way that Mitchell brought the folk narrative and intimacy into pop electricity and the way Carter took fairytales and brought out all the symbols of wolves and ghosts to express her own emotions.

These influences can take Wolf's music in bizarre musical directions, as he fuses dark and haunting tracks alongside childlike rhythmic verse.

Following the critical acclaim that came with Wind In The Wires and debut release Lycanthropy, The Magic Position follows a similarly twisted pop sensibility.»

Anti-Flag

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Thursday

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Jack's Mannequin

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The Gossip

The Gossip (Beth (vox), Kathy (drums) and Nathan (guitar)) are a modern-day punk rock dream come true.

They all arrived to Olympia, Washington from Searcy, Arkansas, in the past two years, formed a band in the fall of 1999 and blew Olympia away with their onstage hip-thrustin', hand-clappin', and riff rockin' sass that is so down pat it's as if they've been fine-tuning their performance for years. They caught the eye of local Olympia heroes, Sleater-Kinney, who decided to whisk the band away with them on their first US tour ever for two months.

The Gossip’s debut album, “thats not what i heard” (Released on Kill Rock Stars), is a remarkable introduction to these hot-trottin' rock and holy rollers, a fine follow up to their blistering debut K Records single. Singing a fallen angel's punk-bruised blues, Beth's pop-gospel voice evokes years of rough ridin' in love's fast lane, seeing things that would make a lesser person hit the brakes and have a breakdown. With all the guts and glory of Nathan's greaser Gories guitar riffs and the Bratmobile feel of Kathy's backbeat, the Gossip have no trouble talking the talk and walking the walk as they tell it like it is. Their live shows are an experience like no other, making their shows something not to be missed.»

Alexisonfire

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The View

Young Scots, whose 2006 single 'Wasted Little DJs' caught the attention of a few industry bigwigs and took over MTV2. Let's find out if they have staying power.

MySpace
Website

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MSTRKRFT

Jesse F Keeler, aka JFK, alongside one AL-P.

MySpace page.»

The Maccabees

Orlando Weeks - Vocals
Hugo White - Guitar
Felix White - Guitar/Vocals
Rupert Jarvis - Bass
Robert Dylan Thomas - Drums

MySpace page

Official biography:

In every British band, there is a little bit of Britain. From the revolutionary sounds of The Clash, to the observations of The Streets, and the character sketches of The Kinks, the musical legacy of this country is rich in bands that somehow couldn’t help be as much about where they’re from, as about where they’re at.

The Maccabees are a young band making big strides towards becoming part of this grand tradition. A decidedly English guitar pop band, whose worldview has been formed by influences as disparate as the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band, television cricket coverage and growing up in south London, this is a group with a unique slant on things, and who are eager to share it.

“I think there’s a fine line between ‘British’ and ‘laddish’,” says 22-year-old singer Orlando Weeks. “I don’t think we’re about that – all beer, and the cross of St George, but I do think there’s something quintessentially English about our music.”

That much has already become evident from the group’s releases so far. Their first independently-released single 'X-Ray' was a characterful relationship tale. Their second, the live favourite 'Latchmere', was a reminiscence of going swimming at the titular Battersea leisure centre. Essentially, the band’s strongest material is grounded in experiences particular to its members – just as several band members first met at school, or while playing football, their songs are themselves written about subjects close to home.

“I like to write about things I know about – you’re much less likely to come a cropper if you do that,” says Orlando. “It’s good to face the facts of your life. So maybe you don’t have prostitutes living down the road, or crack houses. I don’t know about that – but I know about 'Latchmere'.”

It’s this kind of self-deprecating, but quietly-confident attitude that one might see as being central to the way that The Maccabees do things. Formed in 2003, when Orlando began rehearsing in his bedroom with drummer Robert Thomas, bass player Rupert Jarvis and guitar-playing brothers Hugo and Felix White, the band have always worked pragmatically with the resources at their disposal.

Having started to play live almost straight away (“When we first started we were like a folk band,” remembers Hugo, “we just played really basically and slowly.”), in the two and a half years since, The Maccabees have got better and better the more they’ve done. From the off, their live show has attempted to develop the kind of rapport with an audience they had once seen The Libertines achieve. Their music, meanwhile, has developed into a nervy and tuneful noise of its own.

Perhaps you’ve already heard it. A band who excel in making succinct pop statements, The Maccabees’ sound is built on the fast but fascinatingly intricate guitar of the White brothers, but it’s their ability with a pop hook that truly marks them out. The Maccabees can do their own version of balladry, but it’s in the call-and-response interaction between Orlando and backing vocalist Felix that you’ll find on songs like 'Lego' and 'X-Ray' that you’ll hear the original essence of this band. If at times the sheer speed of their material threatens to break them down, it’s this pop sensibility that sees them through.

There have, of course, been musical signposts along their way. One inspiration remains Martin Scorcese’s film about the final performance by The Band, The Last Waltz. Another musical direction was pointed out, rather more explicitly, by a DVD of vintage performances from the BBC TV programme The Old Grey Whistle Test.

“We saw bands like XTC, Dr Feelgood and Talking Heads for the first time,” says Felix. “That was quite a big deal for us – seeing bands with a real genuine quirkiness and edge. Now it seems that some of that has been filtered down, to just having ‘spiky guitars’ or whatever – but then, you could hear them physically playing everything, every motion is aggressive. We wanted to sound like that.”

This, essentially, is a band for whom quirkiness is not a problem. Rather than hung up with being cooler-than-thou, instead, in The Maccabees we find a band that is happy with the way it does things, and extremely comfortable in its own skin. “We never tried to be a rock ‘n’ roll band,” says Orlando. “Pop isn’t even a conscious decision for us. We’re just learning about it all, and learning in front of everybody.”

So far, things are looking good for their mission. Now signed to Fiction records, the band are working on a debut album, and are all confident that they’re now doing their dream jobs.

“We want to be able to listen to our debut album and be proud of it,” says Orlando. “Getting a record deal is quite a rare thing, like being a footballer. But if you’re a footballer, your legacy is a statistic.

“We want to leave something that’s really fucking sweet,” he continues. “That’s a good record of us and our noises. Not just ‘12 goals, 16 sendings-off’.

“If you’re happy with it, it’s a pretty nice thing to leave behind…”

It’s an ambitious thing to try and do, but if anyone can, The Maccabees will. This is a band with great songs and great presence. But also – and maybe just as importantly – one with great charm.

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Eagles Of Death Metal

Josh Homme et al play swampy stoner rock.

WEBSITE!»

Vitalic

Do you know Vitalic? Already many do. To those who love his music, his unique sound, he’s the pleasure provider: the ultimate rush, the greatest high, the invincible metal disco warrior. With his debut four-song ‘Poney EP’, first released in late 2001, Vitalic tore through dancefloors across the world like the Wagner of rave. An original and fearless new talent, it was clear from the start that Pascal Arbez, the Frenchman behind Vitalic, was not just another dance producer, but a visionary artist whose extraordinary music never fails to move people.

Vitalic is a Russian first name, and Russian is Pascal’s second language. He studied it at school and university, and his first musical alias, Dima, is also Russian. There was a time when he liked fans and media to think he was Ukrainian and he fabricated a suitably misleading biography, which only intrigued people further. He’s 28, but knows he looks older, and, when he thinks about it, is quite content with his life at the moment. He is not showy or flash and can’t fake enthusiasm or tolerate sycophancy.

His initial sporadic releases as Dima in 1996 and ’97 on the Choice label were brutal nose-bleed techno affairs which no-one outside the French techno scene really knew about. Within that scene he became good friends with Michel Amato, aka The Hacker, and befriended Amato’s Goodlife label crew in Grenoble. The Hacker suggested he send his new tracks to DJ Hell in Munich, which he did. Then Hell’s International Deejay Gigolos label released Pascal’s ‘Poney EP’ just as Fischerspooner fever and electroclash madness broke and it became their biggest-selling 12-inch, played as a searing peak-time anthem by everyone from Aphex Twin to Richie Hawtin to Erol Alkan to 2 Many DJs to Laurent Garnier to Tiga… honestly, the list is impressive and endless. ‘La Rock 01’ swiftly become a quick-fix club cliché. But it’s still dynamite. Which is why Pascal included it on ‘OK Cowboy’ along with the two ‘Poney’s, as “a reference to the past”.

A selection of musicians Pascal admires: Daft Punk, Sparks, Crash Course In Science, Valerie Dore, Giorgio Moroder, The White Stripes, Belgian composer Wim Mertens, Fad Gadget. He’s not a big record buyer and doesn’t know the names of lots of his favourite tracks. He mainly listens to MP3s. His first love, when he started making music as a teenager, was Belgian new beat.

Pascal works a lot with Brigitte as well. She’s a versatile speech synthesis program and will do anything he tells her to. That’s her voice all over ‘OK Cowboy’. Then there’s Dario, the subject of ‘My Friend Dario’, Pascal’s naughty alter ego who drinks when he drives and parties way too much. All the instruments Pascal uses are fake, in the sense that he meticulously generates everything from a synthesiser. So if it sounds like a guitar on ‘La Rock 01’ or ‘New Man’ or ‘My Friend Dario’, it isn’t. Nor is it a Moog organ on ‘Wooo’ or an accordion on ‘Polkamatic’. Incredibly, the drum rolls on ‘Valetta Fanfares’ are faked too. It took Pascal three weeks to create those drums. Even his sound man was convinced the drums were sampled. The only thing Pascal can’t fake is the emotion that galvanizes his remarkable music. He is a master of melody. And with ‘OK Cowboy’ he has truly surpassed himself.»

Ian Brown

Revolutionising the music scene of the late '80s with the legendary Madchester group The Stone Roses, its singer Ian Brown dissolved the group in 1996 and embarked on a solo career. Never quite recapturing his former glories, Brown has released a number of sets with diamonds in the rough, beginning with the aptly-titled Unfinished Monkey Business in 1998. Golden Greats (1999) proved a slightly more sturdy proposition, but 2001's Music Of The Spheres left Brown out of his musical depth, his ambitions leaving him floundering for air. Tom Edwards

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Lady Sovereign

The First Lady of Grime, perhaps, and a self-coined "rap midget", although technically at 5'1" she can't medically be passed as one. Well, artistic license, innit.»

Friendly Fries

MySpace

Friendly Fires are comprised of Ed Mac, Jack Savidge and Edd Gibson.

Formed out of the ashes of ‘First Day Back’, the St Albans hardcore band, they formed while still at school. Friendly Fires make razor-sharp post-punk that burns through the memories of all the dismal, skinny jeaned ‘80s revivalists you’ve been hearing these past few years. Sounding brittle, knotty and urgent, Friendly Fires are the real deal. With no fat or padding on them at all, their songs possess an elegant sparseness.

As guitarist Edd Gibson notes: “The hardest thing I think is to know what to leave out, to know when something is enough.” But amongst all the stripped-back twists, there are also moments full of deep, blessed-out melodies. “I love lush, massive, tingly chords; the My Bloody Valentine sound,” says bassist and singer Ed MacFarlane.

Biog from Last FM

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Enter Shikari

• Rou - Vocals, Electronics
• Rory - Guitar
• Chris - Vocals, Bass
• Rob - Drums

Enter Shikari are four 18 year old lads from St Albans, who have known each other and played music together since Junior School. Their music is passionate and is mixed with hardcore rock to provide extreme energy and emotion. Their stage presence is equally as dynamic as their music.

Enter Shikari's homepage
MySpace

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White Lies

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The Bouncing Souls

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Mad Caddies

Mad Caddies are a reggae and dixieland jazz influenced softcore punk-rock band from Santa Barbara, California. There are seven people in the band (making them a septet).»

Glasvegas

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The Horrors

The Horrors are Southend-spawned but London-based goth-y-punks: a little Eighties Matchbox, a little Cramps. You get the deal, aye.

They are known as:

FARIS BADWAN - VOCALS
TOMETHY FURSE - DANELECTRO LONGHORN BASS
JOSHUA VON GRIMM - FENDER JAGUAR
COFFIN JOE - BANGS THE DRUMS
SPIDER WEBB - VOX CONTINENTAL ORGAN

Those aren't names!

MySpace

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Jamie T

Jamie T - hotly-tipped south London modern-folkster; think Billy Bragg for the Noughties, uncompromising and heart-on-sleeve.

His real name, right, it's Jamie Treays.

Albums to date:

Panic Prevention (2007)

Photo by Jenny Hardcore

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Bring Me The Horizon

Bratty, scream-riddled hardcore. Old-school, mind - none of this sing/scream post-fartcore bollocks.»

Passion Pit

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The Living End

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The Courteeners

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A Day To Remember

WEBSITE»

Little Boots

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Noah & The Whale

Heartbreaking folk anthems, mostly about death and the like.

MySpace

Noah & The Whale is Charlie, Doug, Urby and Tom.

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Madina Lake

Alternative rock/emo outfit from Chicago, formed in 2005.

Nathan Leone – vocals
Mateo Camargo – guitars/programming
Matthew Leone – bass
Daniel Torelli – drums

They were signed up within a few months of forming by Roadrunner, who then permitted them to self-release their own EP, The Disappearance of Adalia. Having toured with Gym Class Heroes and Paramore, their debut album From Them, Through Us, To You arrives March 2007.

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Deadmau5

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La Roux

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Fightstar

• Alex Westaway - vocals, guitar
  
• Charlie Simpson - vocals, guitar
  
• Dan Haigh - bass
  
• Omar Abidi - drums

A Nirvana-esque four-piece from London. Have been known to play a cover of Nine Inch Nails' 'Hurt' live. Contain a certain member of Busted. Usually found ripping up London toilet venues, which they have now been selling out in advance.»

Streetlight Mainfesto

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Manchester Orchestra

MySpace»

The Bronx

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Florence and The Machine

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3OH!3

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Lightspeed Champion

Dev Hynes from Test Icicles' old band/solo project, which was revived after TI went tits up, leaving many feeling cheated. Apparently "this time it's not completely one big joke". Wow, Dev, thanks.

MySpace

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The Virgins

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Metronomy

Myspace»

Set Your Goals

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The Gaslight Anthem

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Black Lips

Retro-blues lo-fi outfit made up of Cole, Jared, Ian and Joe... and King Khan(?). They call it 'flower punk' (or rather they've been called 'flower punk'). It's fairly swell whatever the hook you hang it on. For fans of The Germs, The Hunches, The Stooges, et cetera.

Black Lips formed when, as teenagers, after-school friends Cole Alexander (guitar / vocals) and Jared Swilley (bass / vocals) signed up their friends Joe Bradley (drums / vocals) and Ben Eberbaugh (guitar). They swiftly becoming one of the Atlanta underground's most talked about bands, they were banned from numerous venues for their wild live shows and released albums and seven-inches on different underground garage labels like Bomp and In The Red. Tragically, Eberbaugh was killed in a freak traffic accident but the band carried on with New Orleans-born Ian St Pe. These events would go on to influence the song 'How Do You Tell A Child That Someone Has Died', a standout track on album four, Good Bad, Not Evil.

In The Red website
MySpace

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Gallows

Touted as the "best British punk band since The Clash" by the biggest rock magazine in the world. With their stunning debut record Orchestra Of Wolves Gallows have definitely made one of the albums of the year but with their chilling, straight-up, straight edge tales of date-rape and divorce they will blow your face off and away when you see them live. That is an absolute promise.

Vocals - Frank Carter
Guitar - Laurent Barnard
Guitar - Steph Carter
Bass - Stuart Gili-Ross
Drums - Lee Barratt

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Bombay Bicycle Club

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Leftover Crack

A BRIEF HISTORY OF N.C.V, CHOKING VICTIM & LEFTOVER CRACK

In 1990, at Humanities high-school, in N.Y.C., Alec Shaheed Mohamed, a young politically active black youth, happened to have some of the same classes with a boy they now call the Stza (pronounced Stizza). They shared not only a love for punk & ska music, but also an intense hatred of white people and their pathetic milk-drinking, Gap-wearing, R.E.M-listening, 90210 watching culture. Alec played bass & the Stza played guitar and sang, so they decided to join-up and play some music together. Eventually they got a drummer & another singer and started the punk/ska band No Commercial Value. After a couple of years of only playing at ABC-No-Rio and C-squat several times, Alec ditched out to start the 3rd wave ska crowd-pleasers Agent 99 with ex-Slacker Dunia Best, Jay Nugent (now in Stubborn All-Stars) and the wickedest ska drummer since Jar-Jar Binks, Ara Babajian.

In the mean-time, with-out a bassist, the Stza, known as Sturgeon at the time, enlisted Sascha Dubrul, a friend of N.C.V's drummer. Of course the next logical step was to kick said drummer out of the band as the additional singer left for the west-coast. Sea monkey drummer and local Taco purveyor John Dolan was enlisted and the name Choking Victim was taken from the health department sign that loomed menacingly over John at his job, taunting him (day in and day out, etc.). Three-months and two shows later, John literally hands his drum-sticks to a guy named Skwert during a C.V. practice. A year later, and Sascha quits the group after recording the Crack Rock Steady E.P and demo.

At roughly the same time, the Biggest-boy fuck-up big-time & Agent 99 break-up as a result. So being unloved, dirty, despicable squatters, C.V. take Alec under their filthy wing to record and release the "Squatters Paradise" 7 inch. After that, Alec is kicked out and brought on is fellow C-squatter Pezent Shayne, who's just learning bass, so after a couple of mediocre shows Shayne is re-placed with Alec, who once again shows C.V. that his attentions are not with the band, but in the gutter (literally). He is replaced with the down, but not out, Shayne, whom has become a much more finely tuned and practiced bass machine. Soon the song 'Infested' from the "Squatta's Paradise" is contributed to the first "Give 'Em The Boot" compilation album, and after an overwhelming public response to the track, Tim & Brett offer C.V. a spot on the Hell-Cat roster. With no other offers on the horizon, and being broke-ass homeless/squatting panhandling bums, C.V. realised that this would probably be the only opportunity to ever make a full length record.

So after several years of pain-staking negotiations a three-record deal is hammered out, including a luxurious suite at the Olive motel and the choice to not put a U.P.C. code on their record, at this point Ezra is abroad as a second guitar player. And finally after years of anticipation, thousands of practices & hundreds of shows, on the first day of recording Choking Victim break-up, but not before laying down all the tracks that would become the break-through, smash hit "NO GODS/NO MANAGERS".

The singer, guitar player & song-writer of C.V. also known as the Stza went on a nation-wide search for a new rhythm section, and after recording a 7 inch demo entitled "Rock the 40oz." For Bankshot! Records with members of F-Minus, Blindsided, the original drummer from Suicidal Tendencies plus a resurrected & rejuvenated Alec Shaheed Mohamed, LEFTOVER CRACK was in full effect. Soon they contributed the track 'Crack City Rockers' to the "Give Em The Boot II" compilation. And, once again the public demanded more, so once again Tim & Brett dug through their pockets and pooled together whatever balled-up cash and spare-change they could find and offered the good Leftover Crack the opportunity to join the Hell-Cat family. They agreed to the harsh terms and accepted the second chance at infamy and global-domination. In April of the year two-thousand, the Stza solidified the Leftover Crack line-up with Alec Shaheed Mohamed on Bass and Ara from Agent 99 on drums. In May they started recording their first full-length record for Hell-Cat, "MEDIOCRE GENERICA". Having received rave reviews for the album, the rest is soon to be history.»

A Wilhelm Scream

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The Rumble Strips

CHARLES WALLER – Vox / Guitar
MATTHEW WHEELER - drums
HENRY CLARK – keys / trumpet
THOMAS GORBUT – Sax / bass

Rumble Strips release their double A-side single "No Soul / Motorcycle" on Transgressive in December 2005.

Myspace»

A Place To Bury Strangers

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Municipal Waste

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Das Pop

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The Airborne Toxic Event

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Frank Turner

Former Million Dead man gone solo as an acoustic folk troubadour. Sometimes he tours with a backing band consisting of members of Dive Dive.

Debut album Sleep Is For The Week was released by Xtra Mile in January 2007.

MySpace

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Rival Schools

Rival Schools are...

• Walter Schriefels - vocals, guitar
• Cache Tolman - bass
• Sam Siegler - drums
• Ian Love - guitar (left 2002)

Rival Schools, in case you don't know, is a fierce rocking unit consisting of four rockers that like to rock!! Walter Schreifels, who fronted the late great Quicksand, is singing as well as holding down one of the axes. The man swinging the other axe complete with numerous hot licks is Ian Love. Ian spent some time in the band Burn, as well as fronting his own groups through the years. Cache 'Utah Slim' Tolman is in charge of the low end. Inspired more by Robbie Shakespeare, and less by Gene Simmons, he played in Iceburn as well as CIV. Drummer Sammy Siegler played with 'Utah' in CIV as well as many other N.Y. hardcore ensembles in which he often teamed up with Schreifels.

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Snuff

Stalwarts of The UK Punk Scene and underground contemporaries of The Wildhearts, known for their cover versions. »

The Blackout

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Lethal Bizzle

Former emcee for the UK garage posse More Fire Crew goes solo on his more grimier side...»

The Aggrolites

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Titus Andronicus

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Soulsavers

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The Qemists

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White Denim

MySpace

White Denim is Bop, Terry and Mallard. They are from Daustin, Texas.

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The Flatliners

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Jack Peñate

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You Me At Six

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Dananananaykroyd

Dischord-esque post-hardcore band, apparently "formed from spacks of Multiplies, Michael Dracula, Kill Yourself, Acrnym and Simplestorm. Fight-pop anthems that are as 'right-on' as they are 'smellin'"»

Marmaduke Duke

Might it be members of another, rather high-profile band playing about with Mr Bungle-style songs? Maybe... but we're not telling. Needless to say they're bonkers.»

Sonic Boom Six

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The Joy Formidable

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Fake Problems

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Fight Like Apes

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Polar Bear Club

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Grammatics

“Vive le difference” sings Grammatics’ Owen Brinley on ‘Polar Swelling’, and if you’re looking for an approximation of what this band are all about then there are infinitely worse starting points.

If, on the other hand, you’re searching for the next Libertines or Arctic Monkeys then do yourself a favour and stop reading now. Grammatics can be defined just as easily by what they’re not as what they are: there’s no place here for recycled musical ideas or contrived social realism.

Formed in early 2006 in Leeds by Owen and drummer Dominic Ord, Grammatics’ mission was and is to combine their disparate influences to make cultured, artistic pop music by their own elaborate rules.

Grammatics are: Owen Brinley (guitar/vocals/keys/sampler), Dom Ord (drums), Rory O'Hara (bass), Emilia Ergin (cello/vocals)

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Chase & Status

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Marina & the Diamonds

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Spinnerette

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Riverboat Gamblers

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Golden Silvers

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The Ghost Of A Thousand

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GO:AUDIO

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hockey

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Chuck Ragan

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Broken Records

MySpace

Jamie - vocals, guitar, mandolin
Ian - guitar, piano, glockenspiel, melodica
Rory - violin, accordion, mandolin
Arne - cello
Dave - piano, trumpet, harmonium
Gill - bass, guitar
Andy - drums

Much-championed by DiS, Broken Records are an emerging group from north of the border who have kicked up one heck of an industry buzz. And rightly so, too. For once. For fans of: Murder By Death, Dirty Three, Arcade Fire, Bruce Springsteen, Cursive, Guillemots.

Photo: Neil Thomas Douglas

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Chipmunk

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The Big Pink

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Temper Trap

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Amazing Baby

MYSPACE»

Delphic

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Broadway Calls

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Single File

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Baddies

Baddies, based in Southend, play party-tuned punk-rock with overtones of Futureheads quirk twists and An Emergency twitches.

The band is:

MICHAEL WEBSTER - vocals/guitar
SIMON BELLAMY - guitar/vocals
JIM WEBSTER - drum kit/vocals
DANNY ROWTON - bass/vocals

Find the band on MySpace

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Magistrates

MySpace»

The XX

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The Soft Pack

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Master Shortie

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Dinosaur Pile Up

Dinosaur Pile-Up lives because... Matt Bigland plays guitar whilst singing, Tom Dornford-May plays bass guitar, and Steve Wilson plays drums... they ride in a 6 seater burning inferno that goes by the name of 'truck delorevan bigland' and travel at molten hyper-speeds. The name of the band was birthed when a young Matt watched King Kong... he subsequently wrote some kick ass songs, disappeared for a while, and returned with the mark of the mighty riff on the back of his arm - thereby marking the beginning of the almighty 'Pile-Up...

Myspace

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Bear Hands

MySpace

Dylan Rau - vocals/guitar
Ted Feldman - guitar
Val Loper - bass
TJ Orscher - drums

Bear Hands formed in August 2006. They're doing the best they can. Says Time Out New York:

"A stylish local indie-rock foursome with sinewy postpunk rhythms."

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Skint & Demoralised

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Pulled Apart By Horses

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In Case Of Fire

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Middle Class Rut

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The Plight

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The Chapman Family

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Detroit Social Club

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The Computers

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Mariachi El Bronx

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L'Amour La Morgue

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Sweethead

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Hot Rats

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