Stone Halos?
David Pinder runs from Skunk Anansie fronted by Lenny Kravitz

FABIEN POLAIR- Crossroads, Middleton

With its' charming drawings included in the album artwork you be forgiven for expecting some thoughtful brooding folk-tronica or some equally charming one man and his guitar stuff. However rather than getting Jose Gonzales Fabien Polair isn't half as great as his French sounding name. The lyrics are borderline juvenile/ basic heartbreak drool and the plucky guitar sounds that accompany him are repetitive and spectacularly drab to say the least. Imagine a pop idol audition where the guy comes in with his guitar and you're about half way there.

STONE HALO- EP

Whenever a band describes them selves as funk-rock you just know that they're going to be terrible. In fact sounding dangerously dated these well dressed buffoons look like they should be in Jamiroquai. Sounding nicer than their crisply ironed shirts it's obvious that they're aiming for the 30 to 50s' age bracket. Nothing wrong with that at all but these slimy crooners have neither anything to say or anything new to offer musically. They're Skunk Anansie at their most down tempo worst fronted by Lenny Kravitz. I think they want to do the music for the next K.F.C advert but I couldn't tell you that for certain.

DUFFY- Rockferry

With her Wurlitzer infused soul it's clear she's trying to tap into the Austin Powers revivalism rather than the excellent musical zeitgeist of The Horrors. Sure to be massive and already being blasted out on every radio station going Duffy is the latest in a long line of white, middle-class British singers. You know the ones that make you vomit with their continuous and cringe worthy impersonations of Black American soulstresses who actually spoke of civil rights rather than going back to rehab not to mention any names, Adele, Joss Stone, Amy Winehouse …….Could there be a more worrying trend? It's obvious that the public fail to see through the plasticity and unimaginativeness of it all. Expect more of the well produced and backed Duffy.


THE BEAT MARAS- 'The Huaraz Ep'

An almost diamond like find. The Beat Maras offer that lovely kind of garage rock dirge full of fuzz guitars and rolling drums that just make you want to wear a nice tight jacket. Perhaps the only irritant is the similarity to the more raucous Liam Gallagher collaborations with Death in Vegas and the Prodigy. However the variation on this E.P puts this annoyance on the back burner. A great kaleidoscopic range, from Humanzi like garage rock to the more psychedelic work of the Coral. Well worth checking out. www.myspace.com/thebeatmaras


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