Once again Greg O’Keeffe falls for the girl in the flowery skirt with brightly coloured tights…
Blood Red Shoes: You Bring Me Down – Single Of The Week
Proper indie-disco stuff this for girls in flowery skirts and brightly coloured tights.
Short, sharp guitars, machine-gun percussion and a nice change of pace make it a big winner.
The Brighton duo of Laura-Mary and Steven play guitars, drums and share vocals. TheyâÂÂve also sold every hot copy of their first two limited singles.
Operahouse: Born a boy
Hotly-tipped for 2008 this lot, and initially the hype sounds justified. With a nod to The Pigeon Detectives and Milburn, OperahouseâÂÂs second single is a tightly-paced indie grower with big melodies and the memorably seedy chorus; âÂÂBang, bang Betty dressed like your mother, caught you in the toilets catching eyes with your brother.âÂ? The trackâÂÂs off the wall middle-eight happily suggests theyâÂÂre not going to stick to proven indie formula either.
Kid Harpoon: The Second EP
Now hereâÂÂs something to raise a glass to while itâÂÂs pissing down outside. Miserable, bitter-sweet and menacing; The Kid has added a band for his second outing and it makes an impressive difference.
‘Riverside’ is rocky and full of vengeful thoughts while Fathers and Sons,’ even manages anthemic without the cheese.
Suicide Grandad is an acoustic ditty that turns its title upside down by actually being quiet cheery.
Maybe the rest has some naieve, weaker moments but still worth planting firmly on the âÂÂone to watchâ list. âÂÂMy policy is to be stylishâŠâ he sings and the buzz from LondonâÂÂs indie scenesters says his policy is working.
One More Grain: Having a Ball
ItâÂÂs a bit different this one. So thatâÂÂs a good thing. Right? Ermm. John Peel would have loved the London-based Lancastrians. Theirs is definitely a memorable debut.
Frontman Daniel Patrick Quinn delivers in an intoxicated spoken-word warble and the brass has a lo-fi, decidedly odd sound. Is it comedy music a la early Divine Comedy or Babybird? Or is it Pulp reheated and sprinkled with finely-chopped 2008?
I donâÂÂt know. ItâÂÂs weird, itâÂÂs enigmatic. ItâÂÂs not badâŠâÂÅ
Theoretical Girl: The Hypocrite
Solo indie-electro newbie Theoretical Girl offers up a haunting, dark slow-burner which will either get you reaching for the gin or the stop button.
ItâÂÂs somber, reflective stuff with just enough dance edge to stop it becoming a dirge.
White Stripes: Conquest
The third single from under-rated Icky Thump is a mariachi-tinged, balls-out, patently bizarre cover of a 1952 Patti Page record. Not convinced? ItâÂÂs also got Jack White snorting and hollering about the dating game and the guile of the fairer sex while Meg, as ever, creates merry hell in the background. An adrenaline-pumping thriller of a White Stripes single which reminds us why theyâÂÂre so great.
