ALBUM: BELLERUCHE The Express (Tru Thoughts)
Following on from their ace Turntable Soul Music debut last year, Belleruche have faded down some of their distinctive turntablism for the follow-up, allowing Kathrin deBoer’s distinctive soul vocal the freedom to tread bluesier terrain, set against more of an organic, rawer sounding hip hop backing. Stripped back beats with subtle loops and stabs are the perfect accompaniment to the obvious progression in original melody evident across the album, which comes across like a well thumbed favourite from the very front of the crate. (NC)

ALBUM: BITTER RUIN. We’re Not Dancing (Bitter Ruin Records)
This darkly theatrical acoustic duo relish a murderous ballad or two. Menacingly pulsating piano and dramatically intricate guitars, often building to haunting crescendos – particularly evident on the gorgeous Soldier – back up Georgia Train and Ben Richards’ intensely harmonised vocals. There are, however, moments when the greasepaint and limelight theatricality overpower and the album becomes more Lloyd Webber/Rice than Nick Cave and PJ Harvey. But perhaps it is these aspects that don’t translate well in the studio, form the core strengths of the twosome’s reportedly spectacular live act. (LB)

DEMO: ELECTRA LOUNGE South Of Normal (Pulp Country)
According to their accompanying literature, we’re to think of Electra Lounge as a trailer park band in a Tarantino film, but while they’ve thoughtfully added some rattlesnake sound effects, the musical path it treads is rather more Every Which Way But Loose than Pulp Fiction. The notion of Tarantino-esque music is hard to mimic with any degree of authenticity as those songs are forever bound up with their cinematic settings, but as a straight down the line country band, the Lounge luckily don’t put a foot wrong, it could be painful with those spurs. (NC)

SINGLE: THE FOXES Trauma Town (Room 10)
Watching the Reading & Leeds coverage recently, we were treated to set after set of identikit indie; band after band with the same trousers, fringes and post-new-wave sound. It’s tricky to stand out from this herd, but The Foxes are having a good go at it. Gritty and jaunty rock’n’roll with some spry and cheeky lyrical leanings make up a package that’s starting to turn heads at radio, while gigs are getting busier and bouncier. Now if they’d only stop ripping open our bin bags at night… (NC)

SINGLE: KIDDA Under The Sun (Skint)
Just joyful, really – all soul horns and organ, underpinned with hip hop beats and sliced up vocals like The Avalanches in a really good mood. Under The Sun is the sound of the big beat revival, and it’s a lot of fun even before HerelDeduke gets all live Italian piano house on it. Hervé sticks his trademark huge bassline under a bit of chaos making a happy hardcore-goes-electro piece of madness. (JK)

DEMO: OVERWATCH If Aerosmith’s Joe Perry met Tangerine Dream at an admittedly unlikely party, they might well suggest a future musical collaboration. Musicians do this quite a lot apparently, maybe they get taught it at pop star school as a good opening gambit for when they meet people they recognise from MTV. Anyway, given the possibility that such a meeting and subsequent creative liaison might feasibly occur, the recorded results might not sound a million miles away from Overwatch. This would be even more likely if they’d bumped into Trent Reznor queuing up for the toilet. A seasoned alt.rock veteran himself, he might have reminded them to put their MySpace address on the CD too. (NC)

ALBUM: LIZZY PARKS Raise The Roof (Tru Thoughts)
Singer songwriter, blah blah blah. That means James Blunt and David Gray, right? Well yes, but thankfully it also means Lizzy Parks. There’s no sign of earnest acoustic guitars or wobble-headed histrionics here, instead this is a fresh twist on the genre, fusing an easy on the ear blend of retro jazz, bright, buoyant soul and experimental ambience. Lizzy’s voice swings and swoons, the perfect chanteuse for a bygone era of smoky clubs with red velvet drapes, yet never taking her eye off the contemporary sound of now. (NC)

EP: PEANUT ALBINOS. Falling From the Saddle of a High Horse (Lotus Fez)
As I sit listening to the devilishly bluesy Just Another Day on a particularly oppressive, steamy autumn morning, a hearse passes my window followed by a fleet of black limousines. For a moment it’s as if the trudging brushed drums, weary banjo and sleepy mandolin have conjured this apparition through the sheer atmospheric force of their whiskey-fuelled wake music. At times the character of this EP almost feels powerful enough to achieve this, yet it is let down by Gomez-like acoustic staleness. (LB)

SINGLE: THE QEMISTS Lost Weekend (Ninja Tune)
Their drum’n’bass records toy with rock, but with Lost Weekend The Qemists have gone all out foot-on-monitor, evendrafting in Faith No More singer Mike Patton. The distorted guitars give way to a massive build though and all of a sudden we’re in jumping up and down in the middle of Devotion. It’s the sound of Zane Lowe ramraidingBlackmarket Records with the stereo blasting. (JK)

ALBUM: SCENIC ROUTES The Land Of Waltz And Wine (Scenic Routes)
This will be a departure from a lot of what yer average SOURCE reader will have on their headphones as they flit about the city. But our fair city’s eclecticism is one of its major charms, so you should get your ears round to trying some tenderly crafted jazzy folk blues with some exotic Eastern European and Jewish klezmer influences. It’s tricky to provide relevant reference points, ‘like X meets Y’ or ‘like Z on acid’ and the like, but it would be a steely heart that isn’t moved. (NC)

ALBUM: SHORELINE Time Well Spent (Willkommen)
You know the phrase, you wait for one Willkommen Collective album and then three come along at once? After last month’s Sons Of Noel & Adrian LP and next month’s Miserable Rich CD, here’s the “mother band” in full length. More trad folk than the others, Time Well Spent sees Shoreline crystal clear and textured, so many elements floating around in rounds. Melancholic? Sure, but more than that as beautiful and real as nature. There’s no hiding on a stage full of wood, they’ve said of their choice of only using acoustic instruments, and there’s certainly real emotional openness here. (JK)

ALBUM: SOUTH CENTRAL The Owl Of Minerva (Egregore)
If your mum was writing the reviews for SOURCE she’d have this pegged as a right bloody racket. The Owl Of Minerva (no, us neither) is a collection of noisy electro rock that brings together the Brighton pair’s singles over the last couple of years. Through the distortion there’s real melody, but it’s hidden under crunchy beats and heavy guitars. If you don’t buy vinyl you’ll have missed these gems. (JK)

ALBUM: VARIOUS Big Love Mixed By Seamus Haji (Defected)
Seamus Haji played a big part in bringing electro the mainrooms of Britain – and in kicking out funky house he deserves much praise. This 28 track double CD is a good example of how that was a good thing. There’s still plenty of melody and vocals making it accessible, but it’s got a fair kick and some undergroundtechy sounds. The new Bob Sinclar&Axwell tune will be a high on most people’s list but we like the scattering of Haji’s own mixes. (JK)