Album: Architects
Daybreaker (Century Media Records)
After their disappointing, microwave-friendly fourth album, metalcore Brightonians Architects have returned to their roots and produced ‘Daybreaker’. With a much higher metal content, the record comes laced with distant piano, faint tinkles and some beautifully controlled aggression as the band explore political and religious issues. There’s still a slice of the mainstream, as frontman Sam Carter plays with clean vocals, solemn whispers and white-knuckle screams of rage. ‘Daybreaker’ may not get them much radio play, but Brighton should be proud. (LJ)

Single: Conor Maynard
Vegas Girl (Parlophone)
We’re handing over to YouTube comments for this one, the true measure of an artist. “This song is BEAST.” “His voice is like a combination of fergie and jesus.” “Orgasm of my ears, Chile Loves Conor!” “His songs are swaggie!” “MY OVERIES ARE READY TO BE EXPLODED!” “I preferred him when he did his covers when his voice had more meaning.” “Dislike? You’re an alien.” “This was released on my birthday… Coincedence? I THINK NOT!” “VAGAS GIRL!!!” His fans are Conor Mayniacs, and they’re zany to the max… (SH)

Single: Fragile Creatures
Dear Michael / She Makes Me Nervous (DNV Music)
A couple of melodically rich guitar tunes make up this double A-side from Brighton quartet Fragile Creatures. ‘Dear Michael’ is the pick of the pair, with its gentle layers of soft organ, piano and vocal harmonies, although the lyrics paint a more disturbing picture of abuse and death. ‘She Makes Me Nervous’ starts off with a promising wash of bright country colours, but quickly speeds up into a rather less fragile, straightforward jolly jam of a knees-up. Some good stuff in here though. (SH)

Album: Volume Contrast Brilliance
(BIMM)
With colleges in Bristol and Dublin now under the BIMM umbrella, there’s a broader pool of student talent to draw on for their annual compilation album. On the basis of these 16 submissions, the BIMM’s investment in the West Country is paying off, with several of the Bristol groups scoring highly on skill and invention. Authors’ shoegaze electronics and New Palace Talkies’ oddball folk arrangements are especially noteworthy. Come on Brighton, rise to the challenge, you’ve got competition here. (SH)

Album: Medicine And Duty
Scorps (Foolproof Projects)
Medicine And Duty’s eighth album finds the trio continuing down their idiosyncratic path of downbeat electronic improv. Drummer Andy Pyne’s kit work runs from nailed down certainty to loose percussive scatterings, while bandmates Matt Colegate and Jack Cooper ride on top with a trunkful of radioactive synths, deep bass and indistinct vocal mutterings and interjections. At one moment, ‘Scorps’ sounds like unearthed rehearsal tapes from a dank post punk bunker, at the next, some extra terrestrial dubstep groove. (SH)

EP: Jake Mackay
Clouds Come Over (Overhead Wires)
The fiercely independent Overhead Wires label talks a good DIY fight, although their roster is generally far from spiky, and easily accessible. Guitarist Jake Mackay’s generous, six track EP is one of the label’s strongest recent releases. Mackay’s soft songcraft floats between English folk and a kind of northern country music, and benefits from some  sympathetic musical contributions from his bandmates in The Long Goodbye . (SH)

Album: The Galleons (Self released)
Helmed by songwriter Ben Brockett, a nautical theme informs every corner of The Galleons’ debut, from the Fortune Of War sleeve photos to the recurring oceanic lyrical imagery. The six-piece group embellishes their attractive, folky compositions with sprinklings of dappled piano, pattering drums and lilting guitar flows, with vocal duties shared between the reserved tones of Brockett and his equally hushed singer partner Beth Chesser. Such indulgent melancholy suits a storm-lashed winter’s night, staring out to sea. (SH)

Album: Poppy Perezz
We Are Yours (Beach Hut Records)
Some bands can make the world seem like a sunnier place even when it’s been raining for weeks, and Poppy Perezz is one of them. On this debut,  Poppy’s airy vocal melodies lilt above a festival-esque backdrop of jazzy gypsy pop, singing songs about love, longing and, er, a space antelope. They’re not predictable, with the soft, meandering ‘My Heart’ followed by the trip-hop inspired, synth-based ‘World Embracing’, but all the songs are bound together by feather-light harmonies, making for a very pleasant, relaxing album. (JMM)

Single: Yannah Valdevit
Gotta Keep Me Goin’ / Pick Flowers (Tru Thoughts)
Tru Thoughts’ latest signing is Croatian-born Yannah Valdevit, and after listening to her debut single, you’ll realise what all the internet hype is about. Primarily a singer-songwriter, but with fingers in the pies of production, bass music and experimentation, Valdevit is far from an ordinary songstress. This double A-side features the smooth ‘Gotta Keep Me Goin’’, but it’s the flipside ‘Pick Flowers’ that really stands out, with strong influences of house and bass. This is the first release from her forthcoming album, produced by label-mate Zed Bias. (JMM)

Single: Fear Of Men
Green Sea (Sexbeat)
Fear Of Men’s second 7” revisits a luminous highlight from last year’s Sex Is Disgusting tape. Jessica Weiss’ hazy vocals swim in and out of focus among the tide of shifting, backwards guitars on the understated ‘Green Sea’, but it all comes together for the “I swear I wouldn’t go, the coastal shelf” hookline. The brighter B-side ‘Born’ lacks some of ‘Green Sea’s emotional undertow, but its accumulating layers of giddy guitars and cooing harmonies are a lot more immediate. (SH)

Single: Lovepark
How Do I See?/Shudder (self released)
Things are happening for Lovepark, with Channel 4 picking them out of this year’s Great Escape line-up to appear on their highlights show. The Brighton via Burgess Hill boys capitalise on the exposure with this debut 7”, pairing two warm examples of their clean-lined guitar pop. There’s something about ‘How Do I See?’s soaring, skylark vocals that puts us in mind of cult Britpop act Geneva, while ‘Shudder’ ups the tempo and complexity with some intricate, trebly disco patterns. Worth keeping an ear to. (SH)

Single: Mirrors
Hourglass (self released)
Mirrors are still hunkered down in the studio recording their second album, and ‘Hourglass’ is their latest download missive from the sessions. Its arcing sheets of burnished synths, treated guitar and liquid rhythms fold together to create an uplifting counterpoint to the doomed desperation of James New’s lyrics. Companion piece ‘Between Four Walls’ tumbles in slow motion through cascading keyboard chimes and piano tones. If we’re resigned to a short summer, Mirrors’ autumnal pop fittingly soundtracks the dying of the light. (SH)