Kartica

Oh, remember the heady days of the mid-90s? New Labour still seemed like a good idea and everybody dressed like particularly fashionable lumberjacks? Nu-metal had yet to ruin music, but things had settled into a comforting melange of safe Britpop? Kartica remember this time. This might sound a bit harsh, because I'm a miserable person. However, I also found myself humming these songs while making myself a sandwich later in the day, and isn't that a good thing for music to do? Sometimes humming is better than originality. Waiting for Years has a catchy chorus, the Glorious Outsider is a ballad in the tradition of Oasis' Don't Look Back in Anger, and In Lightning picks up the pace considerably for a strong rock tune. Good enough.

Dion Curry

Midair91

When I first listened to this band I thought Midair91 were your typical alternative / electro band, but after repeated listening this Barnsley four piece stand out and really grow on you. With guitars, guitars and more guitars they sound like a cross between The Automatic and The Killers with a twisted edge about them. 'Siren' sounds like it would be a fantastic opening song at a live gig, whereas 'Unsung Heroin' has catchy melodies and makes them sound very professional. They sound like a band that has had a fair bit of experience with touring and recording and after further investigation I found out that they have in fact done a HMV tour, supported go:audio and recorded along side Oasis at Abbey Road... Impressive!

Amy Baker

My Side of the Mountain

My Side of the Mountain have recently played as Magic Arm's backing band, and now return with this collection of three new songs which clearly show why they were chosen for this role. Their songs are tranquil and life affirming. They remind us that there is still good left in this troubled world of ours; they help us to forget what is was we were worrying about before we pressed 'Play'. '16 Seconds Happy' uses simple piano chords, layered with subtle synthesisers and drums, plus xylophones, triangles and shakers: all of those instruments of wonderment during our adolescent introduction to music. It is a song of innocent feelings such as doubt and insecurity during adulthood, and the sound mirrors this perfectly. Both 'Take on the Weather' and 'Stick Around' speaks of similar issues, with an overall theme on the recording of not wanting to complicate life any more than necessary. All three songs float by as you listen to them, which is a true credit to the bands musicianship. They are well crafted, and it is clear a lot of care and attention has gone into them. This is a wonderful E.P. which whets the appetite for what will hopefully be a beautiful album in the near future.

Stuart Holmes

The James Warner Prophecies

Listening to this is a bit like eating a slice of apple covered in peanut butter. It shouldn't work but somehow it does. The James Warner Principle manage to pull off the bizarre feat of mixing the unmixable, by combining their hard rock sound with violin, flute and mandolin. They hit the ground running with the opener, Sing, and never really let up. The remaining two tracks, Mandolin Song and Have Yourself a Good Night are a little less sing-along, but are hugely entertaining and combine to make this a real cracker of a single release.

Chris Xenra

The Illiodds

The Illiodds have a greatly matured sound for a group who have not yet left school. The opening track, 'Miss Penelope', commences a trend of piano led songs reminiscent of The Dresden Dolls' winning formula, in which their lead singer, Emily Ireland, shows great promise as both a vocalist and a lyricist. It is her vocals that are the prominent force on all of their songs, and rightly so. The band seems to have a natural ability for musical arrangements, and effectively use key changes, which is best highlighted in 'Someone Else's Idea of Fun'. The production of the E.P. probably doesn't do the band justice as far as their live sound is concerned, but it doesn't overshadow the talent which The Illiodds appear to have. This is a hopeful debut recording which these Sheffield youngsters should be proud of.

Stuart Holmes

The Night Herons

This seven track demo relates to the more modern indie band but with more personality and a more individual and unique sound. This is particularly emphasized by the lead female vocals, sounding similar to early Debbie Harry particularly on 'Systematic Error', which gives each track a more distinctive sound in comparison to its peers. This is due to the fact that most Indie bands appear to choose male lead vocals in favour of those by females. Track one 'Salt in your coffee' is definitely the strongest song on this demo with the final 'Solitude Dance' drifting away from previous tracks showing a softer side to the band with the main emphasise on the bands lead vocals by Clare Kelly.

Emma Crichton

Miss Kezzo

The title 'Nothing But Bass' is a very accurate description of Miss Kezzo's music. I could imagine every one of their track's sounding massive in a packed nightclub as they're filled with great beats and basslines. This Rotherham / Sheffield Urban Hip Hop group have a great deal of talent and know how to produce a good track, with 'Bounce' and 'U Know Who U Are' being the stand-out ones. At the beginning and end of most of the tracks I listened to were the group constantly repeating and trying to promote their 'MK Productions', which is fine in one song, but gets a bit distracting after the fourth time. The lyrics aren't particularly inspiring either with most of them being about random rubbish, but then again, most famous bands and artists seem to get by fine doing just that. But expect a pulsating rhythm gliding through your brain for a fair while after listening!

Amy Baker

The Tempus

This demo contains strong tracks throughout, fitting perfectly alongside one another whilst encompassing the sound that is The Tempus. Track 4 entitled 'This Life if Mine' stands out with the chorus playing homage to the sound of the Foo Fighters with its heavy repetitive drum beats. The vocals presented by this band give depth to each track whilst forming an emotional connection to the lyrics contained within each song. Although the band has only been together for a just over a year their performances remain tight and the music they produce shows great maturity from a band consisting of 19-20 year olds.

Emma Crichton

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