ARNALD PAUL Sugar Horses Painted Red CDR (self released)
The songs range from serious (Blue) to wacky (Feathers & Furrys, which comes complete with crackly vinyl sound effects) but although there's variation in the moods of the songs, they all fit in well with each other as there's an overall psych-folk-pop feel to the CD. An impressive homemade release. kahick@prodigy.net

THE CONTRAST Mystery #1 CD (Rainbow Quartz)
Brilliant, melodic, memorable songs which blend a 60s pop sensibility with more recent noisepop/powerpop elements. Can't fault this! The latest news is that Rich Mackman of The Vow has joined the band, and the new lineup are working on a follow-up to this album - I'll definitely look forward to hearing this! For info on the album contact rainbowqtz@aol.com

THE JELLY BEAN BANDITS Time And Again CD (self released)
This band last released an album in the 60s - this is their 2nd album in 34 years! The first nine tracks here are new recordings, late 60s/early 70s influenced songs which include elements of rock, blues, country and psychedelia. In the last of these songs, they are looking back to the first incarnation of the band (Back In '68). The next five songs are original 60s recordings and it shows - the sound quality is more raw, and there's just something about the songs which makes me think they are definitely from the 60s, as opposed to the first lot of tracks which sound 60s influenced but something gives it away in the recording quality and the songs themselves that they're not yer actual 60s recordings. One of the 60s-recorded tracks is a version of Hey Joe, the famous track recorded by many 60s artists. The new stuff here, in comparison with the 60s tracks, shows that the band sound rather more tame these days but I think their hearts are still in the music and they prove that you don't have to be a teenager to make - and enjoy - music. jellybeanbandits@aol.com

THE TYDE Once CD (Orange Sky)
An impressive album from a band which includes members of Further and Beachwood Sparks. The music is a mixture of 60s pop and non-naff country, with a dash of 80s jangly indiepop, and occasionally includes elements of the rockier side of psychedelic music. This is a really brilliant album, full of catchy songs - I can't recommend it enough! Released in the USA on Orange Sky ( ben@orangeskyrecords.com), but it should still be easy to find in the UK as over here it's out on Track & Field/Dell'Orso.
I must add that I saw The Tyde at the Jug of Ale recently, and live they are equally impressive as on record. They played several songs from this album, a song I'd not heard before, and - get this - a cover of SULLEN EYES, yes, the SEA URCHINS song! Now this is TOO COOL FOR WORDS. They should record and release this!

CHEESE Let It Brie CD (Pink Hedgehog)
Really good melodic guitar pop with guts. It's a whole lot better than the jokey band name and album title suggest. The songs were recorded between 1994 and 1997 and it seems the band no longer exists, which is a terrible shame as this album is brilliant. Nice colourful painting on the cover too. pinkhedgehog@dumbangel.freeserve.co.uk
Cheese may have split, but there's still The Lucky Bishops, the band Rich and Al from Cheese are also in. They have a self-titled album on Woronzow, which contains similarly melodic and powerful pop which occasionally ventures into a more prog-tinged rock territory. Also recommended.

MARLOWE They Would've Hated You Anyway CDR (Pink Hedgehog)
I recognised the voice as being the singer from Garfields Birthday, and sure enough, on checking the CD cover, it says the songs were either written or co-written by James Laming. This music reminds me of Garfields Birthday but probably because of James' distinctive voice. Marlowe are more downbeat and melancholic, and less summery and 60s tinged than Garfields Birthday. They're closer to, but not identical to, the sort of early 90s style indiepop that's currently enjoying a revival in the more underground end of the indie scene. Victor Mature is different to the other songs though - a sort of Beatles go post-rock thing, if you can imagine that.

MIKE FORSE Running CDR (Stone Premonitions)
Mike Forse has collaborated with The Rabbit's Hat and Census Of Hallucinations in the past, and now Stone Prem release a full solo album by him. The music is as sophisticated and professional sounding as you'd expect from Stone Prem, but don't expect psych, prog or spacerock. This is more of a pop/soft rock thing which sometimes has rather a folky feel and also hints of non-tacky country. Songs which are good enough to make Mike Forse famous, and if this had been released in, say, the 70s or early 80s, he could have acquired quite a following, but unfortunately in this day and age the general public seem to prefer naff throwaway pop aimed at pre-teens, and whatever type of music fits into the latest fad... Anyone who appreciates well written songs with a classic feel should check this out though. terrib@stoneprem.co.uk

VARIOUS United World Underground CD (Music & Elsewhere)
M&E has been releasing tapes since the 80s and has become the world's biggest tape label. They're still releasing tapes but have also branched out into CDs and this is their second. This comp includes various rock subgenres, eg spacerock, 70s style rock, psychedelic rock, country rock, experimental prog rock, and also ventures into the realms of underground/experimental electronica of various types, and rather more odd stuff such as the Idiom track which is a synthesised, experimental, psych-tinged version of traditional Scottish music, and the Neo track which mixes dancey synthpop with OTT operatic vocals singing sadomasochistic lyrics. Steve Andrews appears here with a brand new version of Real Love And Communication which is totally different to the original reggae version - this is more like psych-rock crossed with dance. This comp also includes Into The Abyss, Dark Star (this is the German band of this name), Eye, Earth, Grass Harp, Ras.Al.Ghul, Blacklight Braille, Lord Litter, The Stinking Badger of Java, TMR, Cosmic Dance Society and Love In A Plague. Costs £7.99 (payment to SJ Taylor) from Mick Magic, 6 Farm Court, Frimley, Surrey GU16 8TJ. Enquiries to magic@uwunderground.fsnet.co.uk

VARIOUS Small But Sweet CD (Apricot)
Apricot is a German label similar in style to another German label Firestation Tower. Both labels specialise in a kind of easy listening pop that's classy rather than tacky, along with old-style indiepop, some jangly, some less so. Lots of brill songs on here; the bands are Cinnamon, Spearmint, Lina, Three Blind Mice, Brideshead, Den Baron, The Shining Hour, Mondfähre, Superpunk (whose name is misleading - they're definitely a pop band not punk), Fragile, Elegant, Rockformation Diskokugel, Modesty Blaise and -phy. This CD is a promotional item only, but it collects tracks from various vinyl and CD releases on the label. info@apricot-records.de

THE SHINING HOUR Wait All Summer CD (Apricot)
The Shining Hour is Mark Cohen, who has been recording since the mid 80s. Amazingly, I've only recently discovered his music - a shame as I've probably missed out on loads of great songs. The music is excellent jangly indiepop in the mid 80s to early 90s tradition, complete with lyrics that deal with unrequited love and being misunderstood - the sort of lyrics that narrow minded people wrongly class as wimpy, but in actual fact you have to be very strong to expose your feelings so honestly.

UHF Lottery CD (Second Story)
The name UHF conjures up pictures of something electronic or post-rock but this self-released album actually contains 60s-influenced pop-psych-rock that will appeal to fans of actual 60s music as well as those into current bands such as The Minders. I like this. uhf@europa.com

BLEEDING HEARTS Fly In The Face Of Fashion CD (Thingymajig)
Punk power mixed with folk melodies, where noisy guitars meet Irish-sounding fiddle tunes. This is some of the most effective punk-folk music I've ever heard; although it's punky it's also very melodic. Lyrically, the Bleeding Hearts' songs are of a political nature, concerning subjects such as anarchy (the 'A' in the band's name is actually the Anarchy symbol), anti-capitalism, pro-travellers, anti-bloodsports and anti-pollution. The band's own description is "21st Century fiddle-driven punk-folk anarchy" and this pretty much sums it up. foxie@thingymajig.co.uk

SHAY Dreamers & Stalkers CDR (self-released)
Shay are singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist Finn Millar, bassist Vic Warrington and ex-Punishment of Luxury drummer Stephen Robson. Their music is a sophisticated kind of pop that sometimes has folkish hints and often has an ethereal quality. I got a tape from Shay a while ago which featured the excellent songs I Built My House Where You Could See and Closer To The Sun, and it's good to see they've included those tracks here. This 11 song CD costs £8 from Shay, Pelican House, Church Row, Crawleyside, Stanhope, Co. Durham DL13 2DY.

BETTY ALREADY Amerimaniacs CD (Fly Lyla)
Punk-pop with ironic political lyrics (eg the title track) and humorous lyrics (eg Vampire in the Sun). Lots of power, lots of melody, this is great! bettyalready@hotmail.com

VARIOUS Ouzel Records: The 2nd Anniversary Compilation CDR (Ouzel)
Comp of lo-fi/post-rock/off-centre indiepop/experimental electronica, featuring Bernd Spring, Morose, Mouse Organ, Nanook, Onq, Deleted, Milaus, Runde, Limina, onlovestar.com, Klimperei, The Colours Seen From Behind, Take2Sneks, Gluck featuring Ordog, Deep, Joy of Grief and Jean Bach. ouzel@libero.it

CENSUS OF HALLUCINATIONS The 3rd Eye CDR (Stone Premonitions)
Third album from this very prolific band which contains members of The Rabbit's Hat, Body Full Of Stars, Stan and Mr Quimby's Beard. They make a varied kind of music which incorporates spacerock, prog, psych, blues, ambient and experimental. Subject matter ranges from the hypocrisy of politicians to dreamlike/fantastical images. A couple of the tracks are along the lines of the sophisticated melodic rock typical of The Rabbit's Hat, but most of this album is of a more strange/experimental nature. terrib@stoneprem.co.uk

CENSUS OF HALLUCINATIONS The 4th Dimension CDR (Stone Premonitions)
Shortly after releasing the above album, Census have put out yet another one! Back Lash is reminiscent of Punishment of Luxury, who vocalist/guitarist Tim Jones was once in. There's a number of psych and prog rock songs on the album, plus a few more experimental (but still psychedelic) ones such as the quirkily titled Carry An Attractive Crystal Door Knob Around With You! There's also an non-psychedelic song here, Know This, which is a rather commercial ballad that gets rockier later on. The Stone Prem people have always been able to get away with having straightforward rock, pop or soul songs on the same album as very non-commercial psych, prog or experimental tracks. Their refusal to conform to one style of music is commendable; it shows they're being themselves and not just compromising their creativity so they can fit into one easily marketable pigeonhole.

PARACHUTE Moving Still CD mini album (Fortune & Glory)
Parachute's previous EP contained a mixture of musical influences and the end result was pretty much unique. They've changed direction on this release and gone for a more straightforward guitar-pop sound. The first track is quite commercial and I was a bit disappointed by it when I first heard it, but it's beginning to grow on me. It's still not my favourite song here though - the other songs stand out more to these ears, particularly the psych-tinged Natural Hyena which is quite possibly the least commercial song here. Parachute are less diverse-sounding now but are still making good pop songs and I'm still interested to hear more from them in the future. hendricks@music.mercia.org

ANT Cures for Broken Hearts CD mini album (Fortune & Glory)
Antony Harding, the drummer from Hefner, sings five acoustic-based indiepop songs with meaningful lyrics. Ant's two previous releases were very limited, but hopefully this will be more widely available. hendricks@music.mercia.org

ONQ/MINMAE Simplicity And Her Sister, Laziness CDR (Airborne Virus)
Seven tracks from Onq, starting with a melodic post-rock instrumental. The other songs are dark, melancholic, lo-fi indiepop. Fortunately none of Minmae's six tracks include the noise side of the band. Instead it's lo-fi indiepop and the more tuneful side of post-rock. I much prefer these kind of tracks to the noise stuff Minmae have done. A good CD. Onq - onq@libero.it Minmae - fakeminmae@hotmail.com

MOROSE Lifespace At A Given Moment CDR (Ouzel)
Good collection of lo-fi songs, including minimalist pop and more full band sounding noisepop tracks. ouzel@libero.it

THE COLOURS SEEN FROM BEHIND s/t CD (Chupa Verga)
Another musical project of Mauro from Morose, who also runs the Ouzel label. Sometimes it's minimal pop played by Mauro on his own; sometimes he's accompanied by some friends who give the songs a more full band sound. The moods of the songs vary between melancholic, upbeat and noisy. Some of the more melancholic ones are a little difficult to listen to as they sound so sad, but that doesn't mean I don't like the songs - this is another good homemade release. Chupa Verga - onq@libero.it The Colours Seen From Behind - ouzel@libero.it

VARIOUS Pop Slayers CDR (Chinchilla Music)
The Scrutineers, Jet Suzette, Murph, Ciccone and Lunch all do variations on the noisepop theme; Parachute appear here with a song from their Pocket Jukebox EP - it's pop but very different to most pop that's out there; Twist have a noisy, dark song on the borderline between noisepop and indie-rock; Southpark Roundabout do rockish pop; Drop 360 are rap-metal - I'm yet to hear a rap-metal song I like; Ant does acoustic-based indiepop, a real relief to hear a song like this after the far-too-heavy-for-me Drop 360 track; and @tomika are a noisepop/rock/punk cross. With the exception of the good Parachute and Ant songs and the not to my taste Drop 360 track, pretty much everything here wouldn't sound out of place on a Snakebite City compilation (in fact some of the bands already have appeared on those comps). This CD also has multimedia files with reviews and interviews. This CDR is available for free - just send an SAE with 48p stamp to Chinchilla Music, 6 Berkley Path, Luton, Beds LU2 0TS. info@chinchilla-music.co.uk

RING Spiritual Need LP (Krank)
Minimal, lo-fi, folk-pop-psych songs, often with dark, melancholic-sounding melodies. It doesn't sound exactly like The Kitchen Cynics but I reckon fans of the Kitchen Cynics may also like this. There's also an instrumental, Break Of..., which is like folk meets experimentation. krank@krank-diskoz.com

BRET HART No More Bandages! CD (Hipworks)
Singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist whose songs contain elements of various genres such as rock, pop, blues and reggae. There's also a quirky song called Marcel DuChamp that can't really be described in terms of genre; a mainly instrumental track Cornflake Orphanage which starts off with some improvisation, then turns into a kinda crazed version of blues-rock, then there's more improvisational stuff; and another improvised-sounding instrumental, Clown Food, which is over 14 minutes long and includes a bit based on the Pink Panther theme! At least these two tracks have a tune though, up next is Velocity-Piece, a discordant, clanging instrumental with no real discernible melody. Improvisational music in general fails to impress me, so it's no surprise that I'm not keen on Bret's improvised music. The song-based tracks aren't as hard on the ears though, and I particularly like Marcel DuChamp which is musically and lyrically quirky, but not so weird that it's unlistenable. hipworks@mindspring.com

ALONZO "BLIND PINEAPPLE" PHILLIPS Bee-Spit Architecture CDR (InstrumenTales)
I believe this is an alias of Bret Hart. On this CD he plays quirky instrumentals, quirky songs, folk/blues/country-tinged songs. Occasionally the instrumentals are a little too odd, probably improvised, but most of this album is good stuff; particular favourites include Pig On A Swing, Swim Nude and Can't Complain. hipworks@mindspring.com

CHRISTINE HART Planting That Seed In Their Heads CDR (InstrumenTales)
This is Bret Hart's wife, and in the main her songs are on the bluesy side. At times I'm reminded of Michelle Shocked, especially on The Rondezvous. The majority of the songs are written solely by Christine, except for I Wanna Fly, which is co-written by a T Smith, and is one of the more rockish songs here. Let Go is another rockish song but it's also equally bluesy. Bret Hart is one of the backing musicians here, but there's none of the quirk-factor or downright weirdness that many of Bret's own songs have. This is just straightforward, traditional singer/songwriter stuff. hipworks@mindspring.com

ONQ The Supreme Weight CDR (Ouzel)
Dark, melancholic, atmospheric and slightly skewed songs. The last track is the strangest one here - its title, Here Come The Nostrils, gives it away that it's going to be somewhat unusual... This song has a guest appearance from Jacopo Andreini and his brass band Fartfara. A good collection of lo-fi songs, nicely packaged in a larger-than-usual cardboard sleeve and plastic bag. Onq - onq@libero.it Ouzel - ouzel@libero.it

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