Shooting At Unarmed Men – ‘Sometimes The Best Thing You Can Do Is Die’

We welcome with open arms the rabid punk ranting of Jonathan Chapple, bass player with the dearly departed Mclusky and brand New Australian, who has left the cold climbs of Cardiff for the morbid greys of Melbourne. Unsurprisingly, his music is still pretty grouchy. This single, chock full of piss, vinegar and grinding guitar vengeance, sees Jonathan band together with a few local lads for a third Unarmed Men album. Expect the usual mind-mashing excellence.

www.myspace.com/shootingatunarmedmen

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Airbourne – ‘Stand Up For Rock ‘n’ Roll’

Some two years after a feverish music industry rumour mill began to slaver over what giants Airbourne might be, they finally get around to releasing an album. This single is a joke, sponsored by cynical industry hacks hell-bent on reproducing Jet’s international success by serving up another 70s rock cover band. That Airbourne look and sound exactly like AC/DC is apparently irrelevant; so long as you can don your skinny leg black jeans and bang your head like some sad parody of a real music fan, they win your vote. The whole thing is pathetic. If this idiot parade sells any records I’m gonna move into a cave and seal off the door with a big pile of rocks.

www.myspace.com/airbournerock

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A Friend Like Mine – ‘Cry Like You Mean It’ (mp3)

A full and fierce debut EP from the ambitious songwriting team that is A Friend Like Mine. Heavily informed by a late-period Radiohead, the boys also cite Mogwai, Joy Division, Nine Inch Nails and Neutral Milk Hotel as influences and bear the marks of all these bands. Rich, dark and deeply creative, they move from glitch-based dreamscapes to murky ballads to industrial gothica in an album length collection of oblique but powerful tunes. Very, very interesting.

www.myspace.com/internetwhores

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Evermore – ‘Never Let You Go’

Like a bicycle with only one gear, Evermore are only good for the seamless flatland that is the middle of the road. ‘Never Let You Go’ opens with the trademark harmonies of Evermorean standard and builds through the verse towards a chorus of soaring vocals and orchestral drums. I swear to God, they’re just changing the lyrics at this point.

www.myspace.com/evermore

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The Paper Scissors – ‘Yamanote Line’

Jagged funk and blues from Byron act The Paper Scissors, whose lazy tempo idles along beautifully until a burst of speeding rhythm takes the song in an entirely different direction for the final third. A catchy chorus of crowd holler and some sunny swift guitar work make an interesting mix early on, but I’m not sure about the shift – the rhythms are too late nineties drum ‘n’ bass for my taste.

http://www.myspace.com/thepaperscissors

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Crowded House – ‘Don’t Stop Now’

Perhaps not the indelible instant classic of past singles, ‘Don’t Stop Now’ still throbs with a great, sensitive heart and a unique charm; Neil’s voice as vulnerable and clear today as it was twenty years ago and the melody as energetically lovely. A sweet Phoenix.

www.crowdedhouse.com
www.myspace.com/crowdedhouse

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The Smallgoods – ‘Traipse Through The Valley’

A rich and woody western ride with lolloping bass lines and ghostly harmonies, The Smallgoods return with this kitsch and peculiar single as a prelude to their forthcoming album, Down on the Farm, due out in September. Alongside the sounds of Lonestar, the boys have worked the misty magic of Simon and Garfunkle into their gothic trail ride, and the result is familiar but unusual.

www.myspace.com/thesmallgoods

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