Wombats, The – Backfire At The Disco

Some people have been quick to put The Wombats groundbreaking achievement of selling out the 1,000 plus Carling Academy in Liverpool, as an unsigned act. Down to the fact that Arctic Monkeys fever meant that any act with the merest hint of a swaggering indie approach, was always going to be leaped upon. Since being signed to 14th Floor records and unleashing their debut album, they have set about setting the record straight.
Matthew Murphy’s lurid and demonstrative narrative, the cock-sure strutting instrumental approach and their ill-fated romantic tale-telling is put in a nutshell in

This Et Al – Baby Machine

The first time most of us heard This Et Al was on the split single they did with Forward Russia way back when. The band has been releasing brilliant singles one after another and we finally get a record. This record is limited pressing so at the moment there is only 500 of them out there. So more or less stop reading and go buy. The record was recorded with Richard Green and has crisp and crunching sound running throughout the whole thing.

We get a few songs that we are already in love with “Wardens” “Sabbatical” and “He Shoots Presidents.” They all got rerecorded but they sound crisp and loud and piercing. They don’t sound falsely clean and still have amazing energy. “The Loveliest Alarm” was the most impressive song here. It opens the album with a slight post-rock intensity.

A major label will surely snap this up. As many people need to hear this band. It’s a damn shame there’s only 500 copies of the album out there. A blistering debut and one with massive potential.

By John Siwicki

PJ Harvery – The Piano

Lifted from new LP

Blonde Redhead – 23

Blonde Redhead holds the coveted position of

The Noisettes – What’s The Time Mr. Wolf?

Who Is Mr. Wolf? I would like to know more about this character. The Noisettes have been sparking our lives for a past few months with the big singles. The album starts with these singles “Don’t Give Up” and “Scratch Your Name.” Both raw, punchy little pop numbers. “The Count of Monte Christo” turns things a little folky. But perfectly leads up to “Sister Rosetta.” “Bridge to Canada” might be seen as one of the albums low moments, but it fits in really well with the album.

“Mr. Wolf” is quite a debut album; there are not many dull moments from start to finish. The albums show that Shoniwa can really sing as well as scream. It is a very solid debut album.

By John Siwicki

Twlight Singers – Stitch in Time

This new EP features guests from Mark Lanegan and Joseph Arthur and they cover Massive Attack. The first song is “Live with Me” the Massive Attack cover. Now, as a massive fan of the band this was a little strange to hear. But, Mark pulls off the vocal quite well. Joseph comes in to help on “Sublime” which is simple sublime(I couldn’t resist).

By John Siwicki

Charlotte Gainsbourg – 5:55

Gainsbourg accomplished a lot at a young age, working with her father Serge Gainsbourg in controversial songs (and videos, more to the point) such as