ALBUM: BURNT CROSS A.U.K – The Earth Dies Screaming (Tadpole)
With the mantle of punk rock being mostly hijacked and misrepresented by American pop nonsense like Green Day, it’s heartening to see the reins being grabbed back by some homegrown descendents of the likes of Conflict or Flux Of Pink Indians. Burnt Cross are from the angry side of the punk street – tracks like ‘Governed By Fools’, ‘This Bloody Age’ and ‘Police Brutality’ spell out their dissatisfied manifesto pretty clearly, set against good old fashioned two-chord pogo. (NC)

ALBUM: THE CURST SONS The Original And Genuine (Curst Mountain)
Brighton bluegrass stompers The Curst Sons deliver their fourth album in the shape of ‘The Original And Genuine’. The 13 tracks of sometimes macabre, always engaging lyrical numbers, take their influences from Americana, blues, Irish folk to roots and more, embracing the history of these genres and adapting them into something new and just as exciting. Mark Lamarr, always a fan of old time music, is an admirer ­­- catch one of their animated live shows for a rip-roaring good time. (LS)

EP: DAMAGED Duvets And Duct Tape (myspace.com/damageduk)
As the first track assaults our ears and blows bits of paper around the SOURCE office, we realise we’re in the presence of something a bit special here. There’s been lots of female-fronted rock over the years, but few deliver the goods with as much balls as this, if such wasn’t a contradictory analogy. There’s definitely a touch of the Brody Dalles about CJ’s screamed vocal, but the backing is way heavier, raunchy as hell and worth looking out for. (NC)

EP: DIRTY LEAVES (myspace.com/dirtyleavesband)
Unashamed ribald rock action here; an unrelenting and unrepentant riff ride that recalls the string abuse of Homme and Grohl in particular. A solid back line powers the songs along, tight and fill-heavy drums with a non-intrusive bass you can often feel rather that straight up hear. Punk overtones pepper the four tracks but the overriding sense is one of a strong rock grounding with a leaning to the dark side. (NC)

SINGLE: DUKE RAOUL Strange / Dead Echoes (Prime Cut)
An auspicious debut single from a band we’ve been waiting quite patiently for, this more than lives up to expectation. Raoul deliver a pair of equal billing songs from the fine old tradition of well crafted songs bent slightly out of shape by distended guitar work from the Sonic Youth or MBV schools. Raoul have been building a solid following via dates with Jetpacks and Esben, climb aboard and join up now. (NC)

ALBUM: GLORIA CYCLES Campsite Discotheque (A&G)
Well, it’s certainly been some time coming. This is an album whose awaited status at SOURCE has officially been ‘eagerly’ since their first perfectly formed singles arrived on our doorstep. So, does it measure up to our lofty expectations? Hell, yes. From the word go this is an assured and dare we say essential collection of jaunty indie psychedelia that both consolidates their work to date and promises much for the future. The appearance of ‘Religious’ on hit Brit flick My Last Five Girlfriends should help them seize the moment, for now it’s surely theirs for the taking. (NC)

ALBUM: JUNKBOY Koyo (Enraptured)
The album title ‘Koyo’ itself translating from Japanese to mean ‘gentle sunlight’, each track feels like a musical interpretation of the expression almost, a rich tapestry of cosmic folk melodies to welcome in the Spring sunshine. The fourth album released by brothers Mik and Rich, aka Junkboy, and a truly Brighton record, joined on several tracks by various Willkommen Collective friends and Gazelle Twin lending her eerily beautiful vocals to ‘Dr. Rendezvous’. A breathtaking piece to be savoured and cherished. (LS)

ALBUM: MICHAEL MCLINN The Task At Hand (myspace.com/michaelmclinn)
Harpist Michael McLinn has enlisted the talents of Esben And The Witch, former SOURCE cover stars, to add some electronic scope to his second album. The juxtaposition of gentle classicism and glitchy studio trickery makes for an otherworldly listen that broadens the horizons of his chosen instrument into genuinely original areas – certainly uncompromising but never inaccessible. (NC)

ALBUM: PEGGY SUE Fossils And Other Phantoms (Wichita)
It was with great anticipation that we received Peggy Sue’s debut album, Fossils And Other Phantoms, released on the prestigious Wichita Recordings. In a definite confirmation of their ascendency it was recorded in Brooklyn by producers John Askew and Alex Newport, who previously worked with Death Cab for Cutie and Two Gallants. A bold entrance, with brash drumming, clear, searing vocals, there’s no mistaking this album for background music, it has a distinctive, unpolished quality. Despite numbering just three they generate a much bigger sound, and they do it well. (LS)

EP: PRJCT MYHM: Prjct Myhm EP (myspace.com/12sections)
We’re all for payola at SOURCE, and the thoughtful inclusion of a Smirnoff miniature, paracetamol and codeine tablets and some kids plasters guarantee almost any band our love. They needn’t have bothered though; we’ve been vocal about our love for the Myhm since we first got the demos of these songs. The dubstep sleaze of ‘KeepItMoving’ is still our favourite and we still can’t quite look the effing and jeffing lyric of ‘EasySex’ in the eye, but on the whole it’s a winning mix (NC)

EP: SATTA Creation (myspace.com/sattauk)
As we write this beneath an azure sky of deepest summer, well, it’s blue at least, we can’t help but turn our minds to the warmer times ahead. Sitting about outside boozing, the sun beating down, a faint spliffy whiff in the air, good times. All we know about Satta is that they’re the perfect soundtrack to these sorts of days. What used to be called trip hop in the olden days is given some more substantial beats and a bit more genuine skanking soul, all adding up to a sound that shoos away the winter blues. (NC)

ALBUM: SPARROW Sparrow (myspace.com/sparrowbrighton)
If you were to imagine the sound of a female-fronted band called Sparrow, you’d probably come up with something rather twee. Indeed, this was approaching our first impression as the album began, but across the 12 tracks the honey-sweet vocals are put through a good variety of paces, from folky pop to more or less out and out rock, with some jazzy experimentalism along the way. (NC)

SINGLE: TOMMY TURBO AND THE TURBERVILLES (Her Name is) Sophie (Sons)
When a band comes along in matching mod suits and spats, it makes our ears prick up. There’s nothing smarter than a band who all dress in the same suits. Worked for the Beatles, worked for the Wombles. Throw in a horn section that nods to very old Dexys Midnight Runners records and it’s pretty much enough to make you turn a blind eye to the band’s name. The song itself, included here as vocal and karaoke instrumental versions, is a solid r’n’b (the old type) stomper which makes us all excited about hearing more. (NC)

EP: WE WERE PROMISED JETPACKS The Last Place You’ll Look (FatCat)
Shame on you if you let this Scottish band’s accomplished debut album, ‘These Four Walls’, pass you by when it got released back in 2009. It successfully served up roaring post punk alongside melody and beauty. This new EP, or mini album, includes two tracks from their debut reworked to haunting effect, but the three new songs show off a maturity not seen before. Their signature climactic builds are maintained, but their usual raw edges have been compensated by a newly discovered vulnerability. (TR)

SINGLE: X-PRESS FEAT. JAMES YUILL Time (Skint)
X-Press 2 release another dancefloor blinder in ‘Time’, a funkily-fused house number via Brighton’s own Skint records. Rocky and Diesel know what makes an effortless club hit, bringing a sublime mix of housin’ electronica to our eager ears. Topped off nicely with remixes from upcoming New Yorker DJ Feygin and the so-hot-right-now Riva Starr cutting it up in exquisite style, check it out on the the newly re-instated Skint Records podcast available at skint.net. We suggest you do. (LS)

Words by Nick Coquet, The Recommender and Lydia Stockbridge