Sugar Cane's Got the Blues

Almost 50 minutes of blues/jazz guitar wanking spread over 4 tracks. This was recorded live and is hard to take for all but the most diehard. That's not to say it's not quality music on here. It just doesn't strike me as much of a daily listen. It's digitally remastered from the early 70s master-tapes, so worth buying if you have it on vinyl. Not really a release for the easily bored.

Three Miles Out: Nobody

I really like this modern sounding rock album. Tracks that stood out for me started with the rather cool title track. This lot have realized that a good album requires some good singing and have not relied on the uber-heavy screamo singing so prevalent these days. They have been clever to make sure their songs do the talking for them. Catchiness abounds lashed with oodles of class like on the track "Reaching Out". This lot should be huge. Let's hope they get the right breaks.

It oozes a certain level of quality that is so lacking in many modern rock releases.

Your Highness Electric: The Grand Hooded Phantom

A couple of bands that came to mind while listening to this lot were the White Stripes and Wolfmother, with a touch of the great The Tea Party out of Canada. This lot peddle that 70s retro-feel heavy pop that seems to emerging these days. The band are back after fizzling due to lack of interest, took time out in other bands, and waiting until the time was right.

This lot of Americans would go down a storm in the current climate in the UK and probably Australia. These Kentuckians really have got things together. Fuzzed up fun is nothing to complain about now is it?

Straight Line Stich: When Skies Wash Ashore

Imagine if Kelly Clarkson could do screamo vocals as well as her normal voice. Well this is pretty much what you get on here with tracks like "Promise Me". It works, sort of, most of the time. They are to be commended for finding a female vocalist with such range. It makes for quite an interesting listen. Certainly modern and definitely intriguing, I'm just not sure if it truly works that well. Full marks for the attempt though.

War Tapes: War Tapes

Clearly this lot have a fixation with 80s goth like Echo & the Bunnymen and others of their ilk. You can just see miserable wobbling around on the dance-floor clutching their ciders to their chest and being introspective. Yes, that is a compliment. This is rather derivative, but in a good way. Catchy songs with all the right markers in them; this is sure to be a huge hit on the goth dance-floors worldwide. "Dreaming of You" is the type of track goth mate to... catchy, dreamy, and romantic.