Axes - Junior

"Aww Maaam! I think my Paul Simon Graceland tape got chewed up."

Super-math from London's Axes twiddles, jerks, trips and surprises until all involved are thoroughly exhausted.


'Junior' is on second long-player from Axes available November out of Big Scary Monsters.

Nice vid too.

Rubblebucket - Carousel Ride

Kooky, laconic pop delivered with a mute trumpet and a resigned sigh.

These Brooklyn tales spun across a kind of chaotic grandeur, quintet Rubblebucket have been shaking scenes on the East Coast for some time and more recently over in Europe during Summer 2014 including a spot at Glasto.

Fizzy Blood - January Sun

Of course there is the Josh Homme ghost in this machine with the heavy riffs and kooky, detuned fretplay. Notably though, this feisty foursome from Leeds punch without the pomp and peyote-in-the-salad-bowl than the Californians. They square up with globules of UK punk and the muscle of US hardcore.

Bear’s Den - Elysium

Beautiful lullaby guitar makes way for the omnipresent brass as Andrew Davie calmly walks through all the big questions. There's a horizon-sized width to all of the Den's recordings and it's no wonder that Mumford enjoyed their support last Summer in what was to become a special year for the band.

The Districts - Rocking Chair

Starting out from a reclining kind of psych, where the Travis is picked lying prone on an American Midwest, sunny Sunday afternoon porch. The track builds with resounding guitar, splashes and half-grizzled vox.
Ending with some whoo-hoos too and we all like a good whoo-hoo don't we?

Sean McGowan - Come Unstuck

Sean McGowan is not a Pogue, he makes this quite clear at the start of his live sets.  What he is though is the lovechild of Mike Skinner and Billy Bragg, raised in the late noughties with an acoustic guitar and a snarl. 

Lyrics that express the frustration of young modern life and the importance of mates "having your back", which are spat out in a staccato rush of anger and bite.  He means it.  And that means a lot.