POSTAL BLUE Asleep CD (Drive-in)
I heard this band on a comp tape years ago with a song that made me think of Brighter and Another Sunny Day, and I was eager to hear more. They finally get to release this 4 song EP which, except for I Know Where Your Dreams Go, isn't so Brighteresque, but still sounds influenced by assorted early Sarah bands. Top quality janglepop - I'm impressed! drivein01@aol.com

VENUS IN FURS Rebel 17 CDR (Superstar Recordings)
Crash is a punk-tinged noisepop song - although it's poppy, it's a more alternative kind of pop than the other two tracks, Carnival and Almost 4am. These songs are an equal mix of noisy indiepop and proper pop pop that could easily be made by a girlband or famous solo singer. Because of their mix of alternative and mainstream pop styles they are likely to appeal to fans of Kenickie and maybe Charlie's Angels. venus1furs@aol.com

THE CANDY STORE PROPHETS Songs for Angels 7" (Pioneer Sounds)
Brilliant 3 song 7" that sounds inspired by the days when 'indie' meant more than just another commercial musical style. The first two songs are a kind of old-style indiepop but not the twee sort, and the third track is jangly music with mostly spoken vocals. Recommended. a.j.wood@dundee.ac.uk

CICCONE We Don't Care/Leggit, It's The Rozzers CDRs
Ciccone are probably named after Madonna but they sound nothing like her - this ex-Agebaby band do glittery new-wave-pop with hints of the more punky end of mod. I hear a Blondie influence at times as well as that of Bis (song titles like How's Yr Boyfriend, All You Kool Kool Kidz and La La Disco sound rather Bis-like).
All the above relates to the first of these CDs; the second one is sometimes punk, sometimes noisepop, and Badboy is slightly mod-ish pop. ciccone@ciccone.co.uk

VARIOUS Jukebox EP 7" (Krank)
Some compilation singles feature bands who sound nothing like each other and therefore sound incongruous together, but not so with this one. This sounds more of a complete record as it includes four bands who do psychey, folky, DIY pop - Dipsomaniacs, Havergal, June Panic and Ring. krank@krank-diskoz.com

THE INTERNATIONAL POP ASSASSINS Lo-Fi Elvis On Acid 7" (Seminal)
Homemade, old-style indiepop on the A-side, and the same track is remixed on the B-side by Subverse. Apparently The International Pop Assassins hate Subverse's version and vice versa - baffling as to why The International Pop Assassins released the remix if they hate it, but apparently "both acts are comfortable with that arrangement". This single is available for free - info@seminalrecordings.co.uk

VARIOUS Satellite Quartet double CD (Satellite)
Pretty old now, but still worth mentioning, mainly for the brilliant Yossarian track which mixes off-centre pop, Middle Eastern music and laid-back dance beats. The other stuff on this double CD single is by Sand (atmospheric experimental music meets harsh noise), Karamasov (a good tuneful guitar/synth instrumental) and Chris Bowden & Paul W Teebrooke (a string-based melody that sounds like film soundtrack music, with a dance beat behind it). This is out on the UK Satellite label which has no connection with either of the American labels of the same name. Satellite Records, 12 Ingestre Place, Soho, London W1R 3LP.

FUXA Techno Light orange vinyl 7" (Rocket Girl)
The first track is a melodic guitar/synth instrumental, and the quirkily titled It's Mashed Potato Time is more spacey and includes a theremin. The label states that this track is to be played at 33 rpm - at this speed it's quite eerie-sounding. I actually prefer it played at 45 rpm, it reminds me of Pram when played at this speed. mailorder@rocketgirl.co.uk

COLDHARBOURSTORES All That Matters Now blue vinyl 7" (Rocket Girl)
All That Matters Now is a downbeat song with guitar, piano and a vaguely spacey synth. Indecision makes me think of an instrumental Chuzzlewit. Fuxa fans may be interested to know that Randall Nieman produced this.

BEN CALVERT The State Of Travel 7" (Bearos)
Four songs from this Moseley, Birmingham based songwriter who sounds influenced by Nick Drake. Sometimes it's just Ben and a guitar; other times he's accompanied by instruments such as double bass, mute trumpet and flute. The single is limited to 400 copies so get a copy while you can! £2.50 (inc p+p in the UK) from Bearos Records, PO Box 7179, Birmingham B29 6RA, payment to A. Farmer.

THE J FOUNDATION/KLUSTER B split 7" (Bearos)
The J Foundation is the more experimental offshoot of Jameson. Their first track is a swing-beat influenced melody played on analogue synths, and is partly reminiscent of L'Augmentation. Features a guest appearance from Steve Perkins, once of Broadcast and now in Pram. Their second track was recorded on a Playstation and is bleepy electronica. Kluster B's first track is also experimental electronica, but more repetitive. The second track is totally different, an experimental/ambient thing with droning sounds and a dark atmosphere. The J Foundation's tracks are my favourites here, they have much stronger tunes. This single is limited to only 300 copies - price as above.

MINMAE 326 Rue de Juniper 7" and I'd Like To Apologize For Last Night 7" (both Airborne Virus)
The first of these 7"s has a lo-fi song buried under noisy experimentalism, and a track that starts off spacey and atmospheric, then some squealing noise comes in. The second 7" has another noise track on the A-side, but it's the B-side where Minmae really shine. The first track is an instrumental that starts off with, yes, noise, but then turns into a repetitive yet tuneful piece in a post-rock style. The last song here is without a doubt my overall favourite here - this is an actual song with words and a well defined tune, no noise to be heard. Definitely the better side of Minmae if you ask me! fakeminmae@hotmail.com

THE AND/ORS & MINMAE split 7" (Airborne Virus)
The And/Ors have a good lo-fi song; Minmae's side begins with an instrumental that's more atmosphere than tune but is more listenable than out-and-out noise tracks are. The next track is the sort of lo-fi pop that Minmae are good at, this time with wobbly distorted vocals. fakeminmae@hotmail.com

MINMAE & GANG WIZARD split 7" (Blackbean & Placenta/Airborne Virus)
Minmae's track is not-bad noisepop with odd distorted effects on the vocals. Gang Wizard's track starts off with a noisy but tuneful bit that's OK to begin with but then repeats itself so much that it gets monotonous. Then it degenerates into out-and-out noise - unimpressive. fakeminmae@hotmail.com

PVT Us And Our Dead Brothers CD (Fortune & Glory)
Basically dance music, but this Fuzz Townshend-produced song has the sort of BITE that's lacking from chart dance stuff. It's also a proper song, not just snippets of voice. I don't usually listen to much dance music but I must admit this is good. There are also two remixes, one by The Remes Brothers and one by The Metropolitan Bass Scientist. I like the first of these but the second is based more on beats than tune and goes for the 'snippets of voice' option. The main track here is the best dance track I've heard in a while though. hendricks@music.mercia.org

CAUSTIC The Jazz Planet EP and At The Belmont CDs and CATHY RAY Yuko Super Hero CDR (all Gulch)
Caustic do quirky noisepop - they name Blur and Cardiacs as influences and yes, their sound does have hints of these bands, but they're not some bad ripoff band with no ideas of their own. At The Belmont has three songs listed on the cover, but there are also six extra tracks taken from Caustic's earlier tapes. Cathy Ray is the new name for Caustic (and also the name of an early Caustic song). Their lineup and sound remains the same. I guess it's a good thing they changed their name as 'Caustic' has connotations of metal/hardcore, and whilst this band are noisy they're much more pop than anything really heavy. cathyray@cathyray.co.uk

MOTHER GOOSE Village CD (Soda)
This band were originally on Blast First, and as you'd expect from being on this label, they made very noisy music back then. Then came a series of releases on their own label, other small independents, and even tape labels, mine included. Their music was less raucous but they still made a noise when they wanted to, and their other material ranged from the outrageously quirky to pop tinged with modern psychedelia.
The Bliss tape Mother Goose were on also featured No Wings Fins Or Fuselage who are on Saucer, a label which like Soda, is part of the Seriously Groovy Music group. Mother Goose liked the No Wings stuff so contacted Seriously Groovy who ended up signing them! They released an ace CD called Little Richard which is well worth tracking down, and now this CD which includes two slightly off-centre pop songs and a pretty heavy track which may be immensely loud but isn't just a load of noise. Good stuff. They have an album out soon which I'm definitely looking forward to! seriously.groovy@virgin.net

EMETREX King Of Animals and Staring At The Stone CDs (Infur)
Good melodic indie-rock with angular bits. Indiepop with sound effects going on in the background. Hints of modern psychedelia. Laid-back understatedness. I recall a Wheat connection with this band. I reckon Grandaddy fans would go for this. Infur is another of the Seriously Groovy labels - seriously.groovy@virgin.net

TIM CHAPLIN Here Comes Down 7" (Plastic Pancake)
A delicate indiepop song on the A-side, and on the B-side there's one of Tim's more noisy, but still very poppy tracks, and a summery and swirly pop song. Nice purple and yellow sleeve with citrus fruit on. Costs £3 (UK), payment to T Chaplin, from Tim Chaplin, 4 Becks Lane, Stockton, Southam CV47 8JJ, or 25FF (France)/27FF (Europe)/30FF (World), payment to Tastycolour, from Plastic Pancake, 180 Chemin Des Pitous, 82000 Montauban, France.

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