SINGLE: RED IS COVER Shutterspeed (myspace.com/rediscoveruk)
According to the Twitter widget on their MySpace, Rediscover are enjoying a Korean barbecue in Venice. Oh, hang on. That’s the Los Angeles Rediscover. MySpace can be a confusing place when you don’t include the address with your CD. Luckily, though, it was good enough for us to venture out into Googleland to find that Red Is Cover from Brighton don’t muck about with such dull dining details, instead they concentrate on making swirling guitar pop with emotional vocal renderings akin to a slightly annoyed Elliot Smith and the kind of anthemic sonic atmosphere that recent Editors alluded to but never quite attained. (NC)
DEMO: PINK NARCISSUS (myspace.com/pinknarcissusband)
Apparently PN front man and lyricist Spleen used to be in The Flesh Happening and Spleen & The Flesh Machine, singing songs about bum sex and mental illness. This is news to us, but his new outfit, including the delightfully monikered Pinkie Winder, Cod Riverson and Cookie Allen, certainly doesn’t need contextualising by what’s gone before. Big lumbering drums, a theatrically epic vocal range and rock textbook riffing amount to a larger than life sound that’s attracting more local acolytes with every gig they play. Watch them blow up big. (NC)
DEMO: SAW GANG BUZZ (myspace.com/sawgangbuzz)
A balls-out rock outfit whose set occasionally and unnervingly dips into sinister ballad territory, Saw Gang Buzz are certainly pushing all the right buttons with us. There’s always a case for heads down, no nonsense, mindless boogie, but the variety and the twists of it on display here really set them apart. Playing baby sized venues like The Gladstone does their immense sound no justice at all, so you’re well advised to check out their Beachdown set as they fill the tranquil South Downs air with a volley of valley-filling power chords. (NC)
DEMO: THE DOLPHIN PARADE (myspace.com/thedolphinparade)
If one were to strip back these songs to a single vocal track, you could imagine almost any musical backing style working with it – a testament to the songwriting, sure, but more of a nod to the soulful qualities of the voice itself. As it happens, it’s underpinned by a melody-heavy guitar foundation that lulls you into a false sense of mellow pop security before riffing its ass off. This is eminently accessible stuff, and a great taster from a band who’ve only been together for a matter of weeks. (NC)