SINGLE: CURLY HAIR
Pumpkin Eye
(myspace.com/wearecurlyhair) Anything that comes from the Willkomen Collective is guaranteed to have something special about it, as well as half the roster swelling the ranks of the record. This is no exception, drafting a couple of Sons Of Noel And Adrian to swell the vocal ranks across a pair of glorious pop songs. The title track is trademark Willkomen folk, breezing along on a wave of strummed guitars and brass, while the b-side ‘8-Beat’ is a curious but perfectly realised ZX Spectrum of 8-bit pop. Both songs amount to a charming introduction to the band. (NC)

EP: MANNI DEE
Fluxus (myspace.com/mannidee)
An experimental hip hop artist with flirtations in glitch hop, skweee and wonky, Manni Dee has fingers in many pies. The experimentalism is pushed to its furthest outreaches, particularly on the first three, mostly instrumental tracks. At times it can sound like something’s not quite plugged in properly, but at once an insanely tight and catchy riff or break will kick in to catch you off guard. The second half, mostly vocal, is the more rounded for us, with ‘Waffle House’ ticking our box the most firmly. (NC)

ALBUM: ROSE ELINOR DOUGALL
Without Why (Scarlett Music)
Her first solo album since breaking ranks with the polka-dot purveyors of 21st century Shangri-Las female pop, The Pipettes, Rose has taken her time to create a bold and distinctive signature sound. Allowed centre stage at last, her voice recalls the softer side of Siouxsie and memories of The Sundays; its backing a contemporary take on baroque pop and melodic Johnny Marr-isms that defy any possibility of retro suggestions. Hooks are dangled like a mass fishing trip, and the bait is impossible to resist. A truly great debut. (NC)

SINGLE: EVIL NINE
Stay Up (For Lovers) The old guard in the SOURCE office are very excited about this early 90s house revival – a return to the days where the music was full of melody and synthesized noises and a bit rough round the edges. ‘Stay Up’ is all string stabs, sampled vocal screams and pianos. “Bust it up all night” it suggests – and we can find no reason not to. Electro house fans will favour the throbbing production of Mason’s remix. (JK)

SINGLE: GRINDERMAN
Heathen Child (Mute)
We like to claim Nick Cave as one of our own now, so multifarious are our sightings of him lurking about our landmarks. After the blues menace of his offshoot band’s debut and the cinematic trailers for the new album, we were proper excited to finally get the first fruits of ‘Grinderman 2’. The opening single is an experimental workshop of ideas, distorted and dangerous, while Cave delivers verses of grisly poetry akin to ‘The Firstborn Is Dead’. Its soaring chorus brings the disparate parts together perfectly – it’s not quite ‘No Pussy Blues’ but it certainly bodes well for what’s to come. (NC)

SINGLE: JOUIS
She’s On The Rise (Jouissance)
Most of the bands we review here are your basic ‘guitar / bass / drums / here’s an indie rock song’ type affairs. So ubiquitous are they that it often goes without saying. It’s refreshing then, when a band full of malnourished youths pitch up and play watertight, early 20th Century speakeasy jazz; all louche sax and bourbon soaked piano keys. The shock of the old if you will. (MB)

ALBUM: THE LAYLANAS
Universal (myspace.com/thelaylanas) The influences the band profess to put them squarely in a country arena – this is abundently clear from the vocal harmonies, but there’s a lot more beef to the production than such a cursory pigeonholing might suggest. When AC/DC producer Mutt Lange worked his missus Shania Twain’s records he toned down some of his rock credentials – had he run freer with his Marshalls he might have ended up with something like this. It’s a great sounding, commercial and catchy record with oodles of potential for unit shifting. (NC)

ALBUM: MICE PARADE
What It Means To Be Left-Handed (FatCat) Like everything John Peel ever played rolled into one infectious package, Mice Parade manage to somehow fuse the flavours of world music with rock, indie and a notable drummer who gives it plenty across every single track. The resulting crucible of sound probably ought to sound like hell on earth, but the band beam with the confident knowledge that they’ve got it exactly right. Unique for its own sake would be a mistake, but when it’s arrived at with this much energy and style it’s impossible to ignore. Especially that drummer. He’s ace. (NC)

SINGLE: RAMONA
How Long (Play It Again Sam) The name sounds like that popular t-shirt brand, sorry, seminal NYC band, and while the music is a world away from the 1-2-3-4 thrash of Johnny, Joey and Dee Dee there’s definitely a shared vintage Big Apple sensibility about this. It probably owes more to Blondie in truth, guitar pop with a decent amount of swagger and attitude, with every member even in matching Converse like the cover of ‘Parallel Lines’. An album follows in the new year, keep an eye out for it. (NC)

COMIC: THE SOUND OF DROWNING
(soundofdrowning.com) There’s an almost poetic beauty to this collection of strips under the Can’t Wait For Tomorrow issue heading. Some are wordless like the misanthropic nihilism of Bukowski and the 50s space-age futurism of She’s Leaving Home. Scripted hightlights have to be the almost Viz-like Klu Klux Klan Kids and, our particular favourite Klopsy & Chops, where a twisted ventriloquist doll mentally overpowers his master. Every page is an absolute work of art, displaying the alarmingly diverse talents of artist Paul O’Connell. Send us the next one please. (NC)

ALBUM: EMILIANA TORRINI
Rarities (One Little Indian)
Lovely, lovely Emiliana – she’s such a poppet. About to be a mum any day now, the quirky-voiced Iceland-born Brightonian could be out of action for a while, so this round up of old tracks and remixes has to keep us going. And there’s plenty to go at – perhaps too much – over two CDs or four slabs of vinyl. ‘Dead Things’ holds up particularly well, coming on like a sleepy, then explosive, version of Björk’s ‘Play Dead’, as do the acoustic versions of ‘Easy’ and ‘Tuna Fish’. Timeless songs throughout. (JK)

SINGLE: TRANSFORMER
Dragonfly/Papada (Public Eye)
It seems like electro band Transformer are too busy playing live to release records – but no bother cos they absolutely rock it every time. This is only their second release but they’ve been filling venues for years. Now with a slightly more disco sound, radio-friendly ‘Dragonfly’ kicks things off with a sort of early 80s rough funk feel and a lovely falsetto as the electronics reach a house-like crescendo. ‘Papada’ is slower and slinkier, low slung and grimy.(JK)

WORDS BY MATT BARKER, NICK COQUET, JAMES KENDALL