SINGLE: BELLERUCHE Fuzz Face (Tru Thoughts •)
As the opener to the ‘270 Stories’ album, ‘Fuzz Face’ was definitely the storm before the calm of the record. Tough beats and insistent bass riff along with a bluesy rock guitar sound that amount to a perfect offset for the soul vocal protestations poured over the top. Back-up track ‘Backyard’ comes in the shape of a Kidanevil remix and is more redolent of the dreamy hip hop we’ve come to know Belleruche for. All good. (NC)

ALBUM: THE CRAVE •Breaking The Silence(myspace.com/thecraveband)
Professing to ballsy rock’n’roll over emo or post-anything-at-all, The Crave are an immensely powerful and commercial machine without any concession to the studied cool of most local counterparts. They’re clearly thinking big, with US dates alongside the Foos and Springsteen under their belts and an album-launching tour with Status Quo already underway. It’s the sort of record the too-cool-for-school brigade might well avoid, but ultimately the dividends could and should be huge. (NC)

EP: EARLY GHOST •We Crossed the Waves (myspace.com/earlyghost)
Since releasing their eponymous debut, Early Ghost could have easily settled in with the Mumford and Sons of this world. Luckily, their new EP ‘We Crossed the Waves’ shows paths into darker, nu-folk territory. Although some tracks share the style of the first record, it’s the more intense, enigmatic songs that stand out. The slow burning ‘1914’ is the highlight, and the medieval tinged ‘Bernardo’ another strong point. Overall, an improvement from their debut, and hopefully the sound of things to come. (JC)

ALBUM: GREGORY &THE HAWK Leche (FatCat •)
Lullaby-like vocals are the only real common denominator across this varied set of compositions – although all are rooted in a gentle pop sensibility and a delicate production that ranges from understated acoustic guitar to more full-on baroque arrangements. The Gregory and indeed the Hawk of the nomenclature are in fact New York’s Meredith Godreau, following up her 2008 debut ‘Moenie and Kitchi’ with another extremely likeable album you can’t fail to cosy up to. (NC)

SINGLE: TIM HEALEY & TOMCRAFT • Live It Love It(Surfer Rosa)
As well as getting SirReal back on the mic, Tim Healey has dragged old mate Tomcraft (of UK No.1 ‘Loneliness’ fame) into his Brighton studio. Together the Anglo-German tag team have put together a main room electro banger with huge drops and a nursery rhyme like vocal. Kidda’s mix has a throb that you might not expect from him, while Lützenkirchen – sometime Tomcraft production partner – is at his quirky techy best, again. (JK)

ALBUM: HELIOPAUSE •Walk Into The Sea(myspace.com/wecomefrombelfast)
As their MySpace URL suggests, these are not born and bred Brightonians. But recent relocation and involvement with the Numbskull HQ umbrella (which has quickly become a byword for unsigned excellence) makes Heliopause something we need to tell you about. These are simply beautiful songs, soft and evocative, seeping into the consciousness and demanding repeated listening. We guess everyone maybe needs a reliable word of recommendation to check out something new – let this be ours to you. (NC)

SINGLE: THE MEOW MEOWS • 7″(myspace.com/themeowmeowsband)
A fusion of ska’s rhythms and instrumentation with the energy of punk was what originally made the 2-Tone movement so exciting. It’s a formula the Meow Meows have revisited for the 21st century – adding in a pair of duellling female vocalists which certainly sets them apart from most of the other bands plying seemingly similar trades on the ska scene. The three tracks across this 500-limited 7″ are launched at the Prince Albert on January 15th – well worth a look. (NC)

EP: MOUNT KIMBIE •Blind Night Errand (Hotflush)
In the late 90s, we would have taken any money against us writing about a cool, young, avant-dance band’s new UK garage single, and yet, here we are… Electronic two-piece Mount Kimbie are blazing urban music into forms that don’t involve yobs or Oxide & Neutrino. They fuse the diaphragm-rattling wobble bass of (certain) dubstep tunes with the 2-step of garage and then sugar the gloop with a bit of new-jack soft-synth. And it will make you dance. (MB)

SINGLE: MUMDANCE •Tarahtid EP (No Hats No Hoods)
It’s testament to Mumdance’s skills that he can drop tunes on the cream of labels across a whole variety of genres – this time proper grime imprint No Hats No Hoods. Trim & Jammer keep it East London while Jack visits Japan for a 80s kung fu video game-esque slab of sinogrime on the lead track. But what makes Mumdance’s stuff so good is that no matter what genre he’s making it sounds just like him – that A.D.D. global sound runs through him like he’s a stick of rock. (JK)

SINGLE: PANDA BEAR Last Night at the Jetty (FatCat •)
In the past couple of years, Animal Collective’s particular niche of overly reverb-ed 80s slowjam-psyche cassette-pop has been flooded with hipster chillwave / glo-fi kids. Noah Lennox (aka Panda Bear, the engine behind Animal Collective) is returning to the label who discovered him and his band (Brighton’s very own FatCat, who also boast Sigur Rós, múm and the second coming of Vashti Bunyan amongst their achievements) to release a super-limited single that schools the hipsters in the art of writing a song, not just turning up the tape-hiss. (MB)

EP: SKY HARBOUR •Words Best Left Unsaid(facebook.com/skyharbour)
From the opening raining of riffs of the title track, it’s clear that Sky Harbour have their well-trained eye on the prize. Unsigned and only active for under a year, they’ve nonetheless made the kind of sound that graces far more experienced and funded outfits. Accomplished alternative rock is one thing, but this is inventive, catchy and commercial – boding well for a 2011 looking back on well-made beginnings and hopefully well-taken chances that seem certain to come their way. (NC)

EP: SLUGABED VS GHOSTMUTT Donky Stomp (Donky Pitch •)
The first EP from fledgling Brighton label Donky Pitch is a real stunner. Featuring tracks from GhostMutt and ex-Brighton boy Slugabed, Donky Stomp is awash with lush synth leads and expertly programmed off-kilter beats that will no doubt be popping up at the top end of your ‘most played’ lists for months to come. As confident in its minimalist element as it is at its most saturated, there’s little doubt that this is an emulous start from a promising young label. (HP)

DEMO: THE TENTH VIEW • (myspace.com/thetenthview)
Only in their first year of activity, The Tenth View are clearly still growing as a band. Nourished by a diet of unquestionably impeccable indie reference points, from ‘The Queen Is Dead’ to ‘Up The Bracket’, they manage to channel the epoch-making qualities of their influences and inject a brash youthful energy. It’s all going in the right direction – a recent EP was well received and dates are planned for the next few months – all well worth checking out. (NC)

WORDS BY MATT BARKER, NICK COQUET, JAKE CUNNINGHAM, JAMES KENDALL, HENRY POWELL