ALBUM: A DANCING
BEGGAR • Follow The Dark
As If It Were Light (Audiobulb)
We reviewed an EP by this fella a couple of years ago, and seeing this CD in the pile we remembered it instantly – hearing this will tell you why it stuck in our minds. Seven instrumental pieces made up from soft guitars, piano and ambient notions of atmosphere – it’s as far from dancing as one can get but definitely begs investigation. It’s the sort of music you can imagine coming from the trees rather than conventional instrumentation – don’t ask us to define exactly why but we love it. (NC)

EP: CHASED BY DOGS •
Smoke. Fire. Lies (myspace.com/chasedbydogs)
Technically, any band with a guitar-based sound can achieve the status of ‘heavy’ – just plug in a few pedals, crank it and spank it. But too many forget that heaviness for its own sake will just weigh the listener down. Luckily Chased By Dogs remember to bring some melody to the party, singing rather than screaming with choruses with hooks so big they could land a pissed-off shark. A growing gig schedule to promote the EP shows the chase is just beginning. (NC)

EP: FOXPOCKETS •
The Corale & The Albatross
(Reverb Worship)
We have to be honest, a lot of what arrives on our desk dressed as experimental folk can only really be judged within its genre rather than within a wider field. But Foxpockets transcend its stylistic confines and have come up with an eminently accessible and charming trio of songs; accordion, glockenspiel and banjo setting off some beautifully sung compositions that bounce along with a kind of modern medieval charm. One of the band members appears to have the head of a massive crow, which obviously helps their cause. (NC)

SINGLE: THE MISERABLE RICH •
Anything’s Possible (Humble Soul)
They’ve thrown out the rulebook for this one and have stepped up as a worthy replacement for the late John Barry with a broodingly sweeping single. A slow-building filmic mantra with woozy violin, this is high drama narrated by a lovelorn spectre with unfinished business. This slice of Grand Guignol is backed by ‘For Heaven’s Sake’, which instantly takes you skipping through a meadow with a cartoon bluebird on your shoulder. Live favourite ‘Monkey’ is given a dramatic makeover climaxing with a Black Mass chant. (SC)

SINGLE: SUPERLUNGS •
Nobody (YellowFish)
Our introduction to Superlungs begins pleasantly enough – some melodic guitar work tags obediently alongside the vocal intro – but then we were taken a bit by surprise. The spiel that came with the CD announced this was a real band with no polish, but to describe the onslaught of heavy, Audioslave-ish riffing that suddenly springs from the traps as such possibly does it a disservice. Superb production sets off the song to admirable effect and the other tracks included, from their forthcoming album, suggest more good things are on the way. (NC)

ALBUM: TWO SPOT GOBI •
The Sun Will Rise (IRL)
We’re not sure what the band name’s all about, but the album title is bang on the money. Feel-good pop can often bring with it a cloying sense of grinning Toploader-ism, but the Gobis’ sound perfectly summarises the summer without bring relentlessly bouncy and buoyant. The California sunshine that provided the backdrop to the recording has seeped deep into the songs, which shine with an optimism that looks set to play out for the band. Dates with Newton Faulkner, Michael Buble and Bruno Mars are swelling their audience, who can’t fail to dig this. (NC)

DEMO OF THE MONTH: ADAMSK •
(soundcloud.com/adamsk)
It’s always nice when a demo arrives as part of an artist’s masterplan – AdamSK sends them as a DIY introduction to an album, ‘Binaural Beats’, which he plans to have finished by June. A degree In music production has clearly stood him in good stead; as well as playing the entire repertoire from electronic to acoustic, he’s developed a good sense of pop sensibility in the songs’ assembly which remind us of some late-period Blur with a bit of Arcade Fire, maybe. We look forward to getting the full album when it’s done. (NC)