Singles Released 21 July 2008

Although it sounds like possibly the worst scheme in the world, the reality is that The Voluntary Butler Scheme (aka Stourbridge's Rob Jones) is a very exciting new addition to modern tweecore. 'Trading Things In' boasts a surprisingly heavy buzzsaw bassline, a great lyric in 'Just like coffee and tea / I need you regularly' and provides a worthy showcase for Rob's Marc Bolan-esque vocals.

'The Eiffel Tower and the BT Tower' sounds like 80's heroes Jamie Wednesday treated with sandpaper while 'Hot Air Balloon Heart' is a tropical ballad, lost on a remote Hawaiian Island with nary a care in the world.

This is genial songwriting at its best and a welcome change from the four skinny blokes with guitars blueprint that has been squeezed to within an inch of its life.

Richard Brown

Released worldwide on the 22nd July, the new EP from Rage Against the Machine's Zack and The Mars Volta's Jon is white hot, from the column inches it has already generated to the content of the finished article - heavy, as always, in point of view and fucking heavy in implementation.

While the vocals and lyrics are unmistakably De La Rocha, albeit up to date (check 'Wild International' with its chorus of 'For Mohammed and Christ you lay your body down'), the sound that backs this target-vitriol is quite different. The relatively-polished metal sound of Rage Against the Machine has been traded for a neo-hardcore scuzz fuzz backing topped off with an impossible arsenal of effects.

The way Zack shouts 'We'll show you what war is good for!' like a possessed Edwin Starr over the end of the title track should re-convince anyone who has recently pointed the finger at De La Rocha and his other band for accepting top dollar to play corporate festival headline slots. This is a welcome return for undiluted anger to an over-apathetic music world.

Richard Brown

A double single from one of the albums of the year from Gruff & Boom Bip. 'I Told Her On Alderaan' is a 'Time'-era ELO workout that makes you feel embarrassed for not owning any records by Huey Lewis & The News, and that's no mean feat, whilst 'Trick For Treat' is one of the two hip-hop inflected tracks on the album, which, a lot like it's counterpart 'Sweat Shop', only serves to highlight the strength of the song writing elsewhere on the record. All in all, a combination of 'Yeah' and 'Meh', so save your money and buy 'Stainless Style' instead.

Ben Goldrun

Where Marv the Marsh relates being the new kid in school, having a pencil case full to the brim and getting into a fight with Christopher Turner - the local lad who thinks he's MIke Tyson. The joke is, of course, on both the bullies and the teachers who remark that he'll never amount to anything as Martin gleefully and mockingly sings the line 'People like me are destined for greateness / So you don't have to worry about my lateness'.

Whether that be true, of course, depends on the nation's appetite for this particular brand of UK hip hop. With the main mix relating more to the now largely forgotten sound of The Streets than the seriously de rigeur recent Wiley and Dizzee Rascal singles, prospective fans may need to check out the Lillica Libertine Remix to get their fix of grimy electro, or 'grelectro' as it's probably been dubbed by now.

Richard Brown

Ah, Scottish indie rock. Let's go through the checklist. Jangly guitars? Check. Phil Spector / JAMC drums? Check. Close harmony vocals? Check. Optional xylophone? Check. And yet there's a certain honesty missing to this song, one that appears to have been diluted and overshined by major label production methods and requirements. You get the impression that this song may sound astounding in a live environment, but on record has been watered down for radio consumption.

Which, I guess, is where the remixes come in and Attic Lights have assembled some big names to give the record that new dimension it needs. Mogwai put the vocals through a vocoder to great effect while stripping the backing track to a skeleton. Jim Noir takes a squiggly indie / electro detour which just about works while the Found mixes and the Let's Go Outside mix are unnecessary filler. Camera Obscura, however, are top of the class providing the production the lead track is shouting our for.

Richard Brown

'Undercurrent' is a great song recorded by a pretty good band and produced by someone who needs to try harder. It's simple yet infectious shouty punk-pop which, if they could just get the levels on the record to sit together better, could really take them somewhere. With the correct remix this could be huge.

Richard Brown

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