Van Susans - 'Paused In The Moment' (Beatnik Geek) 4/5

I first encountered UK alt / indie rockers Van Susans back last year when they issued their "We Could Be Scenery'' ep, and to be honest I wasn't that impressed, but that release did have one killer track that showed that the band did have something to offer. then a few months back we had their last single Bricks Not Sticks or Straw, a track that was a huge step in the right direction, and now we have this the bands debut album on our hands.

Glad to say this album is every bit as good as that single, in fact the aforementioned track kicks the album off and lays out the stall for whats to come. Big powerful pop rock ballads in the Beautiful South vein, spiced up by a huge Waterboys type celtic lighter waving vibe, hints of dirty rock and roll attitude, a dash of an almost Undertones style to song writing and catchy hooks by the truck load.

Highlights on offer include the vast and anthemic Fireworks with is sweet piano motif, the Subways style pop punk work out of The Road, the deeply introspective Disappear, the indie pop floor filler of Popo, the downbeat foot tapper of Notice Me and the drive indie rock workout of Served Cold with its rather tasty acoustic guitar lead and soaring fiddle lines. In fact there's not a weak track on show.

So this has me puzzled, was I wrong about that ep? Nope, I've just given it another listen and still find it lacking, but I'm loving this album. Why should that be? Well not long after the aforementioned ep was released Van Susans hit the road for a lengthy tour opening up for the Beautiful South, a band I've always had the utmost respect for as purveyors of good solid serious pop rock, and maybe something rubbed off onto the Van Susans, But whatever happened, the fact remains that in around a year, this lot have gone from being bog standard indie rock wannabes into an act that really do have something to offer the word musically. And long may they continue.

Pretty Good

For fans of... The Waterboys, The Beautiful South, Whiskey and Lace, Jimmy Eat World.....

Lace And Whiskey - 'Running Out Of Time' (Self Released) 4/5

East London rockers Lace And Whiskey have been around since 2008, they play a sort of Americana influenced soft acoustic indie rock and roll, and this is their debut full length album.

Now I'll be honest here, when I got this in my inbox the other day and first played it through I didn't like it at all, but having lived with it for a few days and given it a second chance, I can say its growing on me rapidly. OK I ain't gonna start claiming this is the best release ever to cross my inbox, I will say it is not without a lot of merit.

Based around the slick and introspective guitar work of  Melissa Collett and the direct and sincere sounding vocals of Andy Hodgson, Lace and Whiskey have created a fairly engaging album, that brings to mind the likes of Frank Turner and New Model Army in terms of approach and attitude.

Highlights include the Frank Turner influenced Don't Ask Questions, the hard edged Confuse The Mind, the dark and disturbing Isolation and especially the spine tingling instrumental Night Of The Armada - a track that shows Melissa Colletts six string slinging ability in fine style.

All in all this is a good debut from a band that have a fairy unique approach and could go places.

Worth checking out

For fans of... Frank Turner, New Model Army, The Levellers, Duckfeet..... etc

Rummer And Grapes - 'Ground Control' (New Model Label) 4.5/5

Now despite being named after a London student boozer, Rummer And Grapes are in fact from Italy, and are, along with the likes of Bi-Polar Sluts, Speedjackers, Having Thin Moonshine etc part of the exciting new wave of Italian rock that is beginning to make waves beyond their homeland. They issued their debut long player a couple of years back, and have now returned with this rather cool and groovy three track ep.

Now there is lot of interesting influences on show here; a touch of good old indie / alternative rock, a hint or two of The Subways style pop punk and a smattering of good old fashioned hard rock sensibilities; all served up on a platter of Delain / Nightwish style female fronted post goth styling.

Of the three tracks on offer we get Between Darkness And Light which starts out sounding a little like Within Temptation at their very best and builds into a cracking commercial hard rocker that is dripping huge hooks and vast sweeping riffs. January 12th has a certain Lacuna Coil quality to it with its huge guitar soundscaping, spine tingling vocal and massive chorus. However the real killer cut on offer is the title track Ground Control, a ripping track that wouldn't sound out of place on a Subways or Skuzzies album, with its bouncy post punk light and choppy riffs, air punching anthem of a chorus and shiver inducing use of samples - a classic cut if ever there was.

All in all this is a great release, and goes a long way to build on the already impressive reputation of this band and for that matter new Italian rock in general

Seek and buy.

For fans of... The Subways, Nightwish, Where's Billy, Trillium etc....

Future Pilots - "Demo ep" (self released) 4/5

This is the debut ep from Bristol based alternative rockers Future Pilots, an outfit whose personnel are drawn partly from the English West Country and party from the Czech Republic.

Now I'll admit I've a high bench mark when it comes to alt and indie rock, I've heard so much bland and generic stuff in the genre that an act has to be something a bit special for me to take notice. Thankfully, Future Pilots are anything but bland and generic.

There are five songs on offer here, and whilst they do fit neatly into the whole alternative/indie pigeon holes, there are enough good ideas and interesting experimentation going on here to lift the band well above the same old same old bucket.

Opening cut Money Can't Buy Protection has lots of nice jangly indie guitars but the whole thing bops along with a post punk attitude and some wonderfully dirt riffs under pinning the neo-brit-pop sensibilities. Next up is Size 5 Blues a sweet almost laid back cut that for some reason reminds me of 70's folk rockers Hudson Ford with its soft shoe shuffle rhythm and tongue in cheek lyrics.

As this demo goes on it just gets better. Assange, a song about the wiki-leaks guy is a bit of a rocker with some almost metal power chordage counterpointing some catchy clean and jangly bits and a main riff that tips a hat towards the likes of The Dirty Youth or The Skuzzies - oh yeah mustn't forget some tasteful lead work as well.

Take It All sounds a bit like The Who jamming with the Arctic Monkeys, and the final track Comfort is a bass lead gem with an almost Half Man Half Biscuit feel worked into the normal indie rockisms.

Add in the fact that singer Honza Syrovatka has a charming and engaging voice and delivery; and the rest of the band are all fine fine musicians and you have something here that hints of great things to come.

This lot a definitely a band to watch out for.

Well worth a look

for fans of... XTC, Vivian, Having Thin Moonshine, The Mudheads...

Red Kyte - 'Look To The Sky' (self released) 3.5/5

Red Kyte are a five piece indie type pop-rock outfit based between Brighton and Oxford, and this is their debut album.

Now as indie rock type stuff this isn't too bad. there are eight tracks on offer, most of which follow the fairly safe indie rock formula of big walls of fuzz guitars with a chiming lead, Aled Phillips style plaintiff vocalisations, big hooky choruses etc. It is a tad generic, but fortunately not too annoyingly so; this band are no Tiger Please or Kids In Glass Houses, but they are mercifully several cuts above the likes of My Extraordinary and Street Fight Silence - mainly due to the fact this lot can, when they put their minds to it turn out a good tune.

Don't get me wrong. not everything on here is top notch, the best material on offer here is is placed towards the end of the album, meaning the listener has to struggle through a couple of fairly uninspiring indie rock by numbers cuts like Hearts Of Stone and You Are My Gold before they reach the good stuff.

And the good stuff IS worth looking out for. You get the chilled and laid back Not Letting Go which has a certain Radiohead vibe about it. Safe Side which is a bit of rock that hints at the aforementioned Tiger Please. Sharks is a great anthem with a catchy hooky chorus, that has fan fave penned all over it. Then we have the mini epic closer of ...But Where Do We Go From Here? that smacks of Kids In Glass Houses jamming with The Verve and features a very nice Hammond organ chord at the very end.

Over all this album isn't earth shattering, but its a competent and promising debut from a young band that if they started to develop their own sound and move away from the well worn indie rock pathways could turn into an outfit of note.

For Fans of... Tiger Please, Kids In Glass Houses, Lost Prophets, Radiohead etc...

Mind Museum - 'The Power Of Three' (self released) 4/5

Bristol act Mind Museum haven't been around that long but they have already shared stages with the likes of Royal Republic and are beginning to build a solid home town reputation as an act to take note of. now they have just issued this six track mini album.

In their release blurb they describe themselves as post rock, a term I've never really got, after all when did rock die? and its a term that will normally put me off a band from the start, but as these guys are local and I was spurred on by their growing local reputation I decided to give them a go and I'm glad I did.

There are six tracks on offer here and the over all vibe is one that brings to mind the likes of Kids In Glass Houses, Lost Prophets with touches of Biffy Clyro and Funeral For A Friend. Lots of nice commercial melodic vocals, chiming guitars and slick danceable rhythms. But the more you listen the more you hear going on.

The opener The Watcher starts off with a Led Zep style drum intro and cuts into a riff that wouldn't sound out of place on a Grifter track before firing head first into a as fine a slice of pop-rock sensibilities your likely to hear anywhere. Next track Rat Race has a snifter of AFI in their quieter moments about it and then we get the real surprise, Everything Eventually opens with a riff that is pure Hogarth era Marillion and resolves into another cool and listenable slice of commercial rock that has a Tiger Please vibe about it.

Add in the jagged glass riffage of Gambling Man with its sub hardcore growled chorus punchline, the sneering frustrated angst of The Secret Of Happiness and mini epic closer Seal The Cracks which its semi hardcore sensibilities, Amity Affliction style riffs and KIGH over all vibe; and you have in this album something to make most rockers, both pre and post sit up and take notice.

Basically this is a very worthy offering from a good young band who show a lot of promise, and one you should check out

for fans of.... Kids In Glass Houses, Tiger Please, The Effect, AFI....

I Divide - 'Whats Worth More?' (self released) 4/5

I Divide are from Exeter in the UK and apart from that I know very little about them. But I do know one thing since this album dropped through my inbox the other day, they have found in me an another admirer.

What's Worth More? is a great little album, there are seven songs on offer, plus a short intro and a short interlude at half time, and all six cuts are pretty good slices of contemporary commercial hard rock that seam to be batting from the same wicket as the likes of Kids In Glass Houses, Lost Prophets, Tiger Please, Funeral For A Friend etc, and as I have over the past few years developed a bit of liking for all the aforementioned acts I am finding myself beginning to get into this one.

This album is tight and well played, its as commercial as hell, but nowhere does it sound generic. Vocalist Tom Kavanagh has raw sounding, but far from unpleasing voice and a highly energetic delivery, the rest of the band also seam to be very competent musicians as well. There are lots of dynamics on show here, lots of light and shade, which shows that I Divide have learned the most important lesson in music, that the spaces between the notes are just as important as the notes themselves.  There is nothing to find fault with in the song writing either, all the tracks have some intelligently put together lyrics and some nice structuring. The album closer Whats Worth More? is especially worthy of praise with its thoughtful acoustic guitar and piano breakdown in the middle and slow but relentless build up to a glorious anti-climactic conclusion.

Other highlights include This Ship's Going Down, with it's big riffs and powerful tempo changes, Burning Out with its guitar motif that sounds a little like a classic Mike Oldfield moment and Deja Vu with its massive hooky chorus and mob chorus backing vocals.

OK I do have one small issue here. I'm not a fan of the over all guitar sound. Don't get me wrong, its well played, but on the whole the guitars are just one huge wall of fuzz that makes it hard to really pick out the often killer riffs and at times swamp the rest of the band. But this is not the fault of I Divide as such. I have the same issue with the production on a lot of todays more commercial bands. Ho hum, its a style that seams to go down well with the youth though; I suppose its only a minor gripe and one I can live with.

Over all I Divide have got a good thing going on here and I'm sure that given a few breaks they could well develop into major players on the UK rock scene. Well worth checking out.

For fans of... You and Me At Six, Kids In Glass Houses, Tiger Please, Funeral For A Friend

Fall Short For Glory - 'The Daytime EP' (self released) 4/5

This is the second ep from Bucks pop-punkers Fall Short For Glory in under a year, and I gotta say against all expectations I'm enjoying this three tracker very muchly.

Coming firmly from the Green Day, Blink 182, Arctic Monkey's stable FSFG have cooked up a very infectious and damn listenable little release. We start off with Is It Real Yet? a corkingly catchy ditty with a quirkly riff that brings to mind the early work of sadly missed Bristol outfit Clockwork Sniper. Stray Away is a bit more straight forward, sounding a bit like The Subways or The Skuzzies. It has a great sing-a-long-and-punch-the-air chorus and a cool minimalist guitar solo that wouldn't sound out of place on a track by London pop punkers The Red Zoids. The closer Never Look Back is perhaps the weakest of the three, but even this blows the balls off some of the pop-rock and pop-punk stuff that has passed through my inbox in recent weeks.

Over all FSFG have done themselves proud here, they show an aptitude to good song writing, and know how to construct a well catchy tune. I'm sure that given a year or two to develop their craft, and get out on the road to hone their skills and pick up the following that is sure to come, they will develop into a band the UK will start to take notice of. Highly Recommended.

For fans of... The Arctic Monkeys, Green Day, The Subways, The Red Zoids.....

Streetfight Silence - 'Secrets' (self released) 2.5/5

Streetfight Silence are a young band from Berkshire and this is their debut ep, althought they have banged out a couple of singles over the past year or so.

This band play sort of wanna be commercial indie rock in the sort of Coldplay, Nickleback type of style, and sadly I'm finding this release sadly lacking. Don't get me wrong, these lads have some good ideas I particularly like The Police style intro to Promise I Will Stay, but they let themselves down in so many ways. First of all the production here does them no favours at all. This type of commercial rock thrives on the big chorus, the immense guitar sound and this is what this ep doesn't have. Those nice choppy indie guitar lines that should sound so big and epic are tinny over powered by the lead vocal. Vocalist Russ hasn't got that bad a voice, but he sounds very one dimensional and almost annoyingly lifeless. Backing vocals seam to to be gaffer tapped over the top of the mix rather than bedded in properly and add nothing to the sound other than extra noise. The guitars are well played but again lacking in depth, everything is at the same level, so when you want a big impact moment nothing happens. The drums, especially the snare are far too high in the mix, whilst the cymbals are all to often lost. I really hope Streetfight Silence produced this themselves and these errors can be put down to inexperience and youth, cos if they paid someone to produce and mix this they really should be asking for their money back.

It's a shame for there is the germ of a good band in here somewhere. The Rhythm section is tight and some of the tracks on here, like Shining Armour and Seeing Ghosts (the best track on offer here) show the glimmer of a bent towards good catchy songsmithing. Ok in other places such as the ballad Conquer The World they aint so hot, but these lads are still young and have a lot to learn. I really would like to hear this outfit after a visit to to a studio with a producer who knows what he is doing, cos then we could really tell exactly how good Streetfight Silence are.

In conclusion I don't think this ep is going to do this band any good outside being a rough demo to get gigs with, and I wouldn't advise any of them to quit the day jobs at the moment either. BUT I would also advise them not to quit music either, rather keep working at it, learning from their mistakes and to take reviews such as this as constructive criticism; cos even the very best had to start somewhere.

for fans of... Coldplay, Nickleback, 21 Against etc...

Kids In Glass Houses - 'In Gold Blood' (roadrunner) 4/5

This is the third full length opus from young Cardiff based upstarts Kids In Glass Houses, and marks a significant change from their older material. This album has ditched a lot of the pop punk sensibilities and sees the band heading in a more mainstream rock direction. Now I know this may cause the inevitable cries of 'sell out' from some of their older fans, but it will also make many people, like myself, who were not overly struck on their older material give them a second look.

To be honest In Gold Blood is a great rock album, Tracks Like Teenage Wonderland, Gold Blood and Animals are superb slices of commercial rock, catchy hooks, danceable beats and infectious grooves, yet at the same time intelligently constructed with great lyrics.And I've gotta give praise to the rhythm section of Andrew Shay and Philip Jenkins for driving the whole thing along with such energy.

Stand out tracks?  Well every one of the 11 songs on offer here is a winner, but I do have a particular liking to Fire with its lazy back beat and late night sax solo, Diamond Days - which sounds a little like a Don Henley track and Black Crush which provides the albums true rock out moment.

In a world where the commercial rock scene is too often dominated by bland insipid uninspiring tripe (yes Nickleback, Theory of A Deadman, 30 Seconds To Mars - I AM looking at you), this album is a breath of fresh air. Highly Recommended.

for fans of... Fightstar, Funeral For A Friend, Lostprophets, 30 Seconds To Mars etc...