SURETOSS ...Like The Sun green vinyl 7" (Jigsaw)
This is pretty good. Sounds kind of like a heavier version of Boyracer (not noisier, just heavier). Also reminds me a bit of what I've heard of Superchunk, Archers of Loaf and all those other noisy American bands of the same ilk. It's got four tracks, you don't see many four track 7"s any more. Green vinyl is a good move too. Comes with a free bit of jigsaw puzzle and some stickers. Send £3 (inc. p+p) to Jigsaw Records, UNT PO Box 5551, Denton, TX 76203, USA.

BABE RAINBOW Parachute CD (Premonition)
Nice jangly indie-pop with female vocals. Kind of cute, I must admit, but Babe Rainbow have a professional sound which just isn't the case with a lot of twee bands. I like this a lot. Send £3 to Colin Stokes, Advantage Promotions & Management, 17 Cambrian Way, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG22 5AH. Cheques to C. Stokes.

BEAR/BARDO POND split 7" (Ché)
The Bardo Pond track starts off like it might be good, but then just sounds like a bunch of people making noise for kicks, with not much of a noticeable tune. Might be better if the vocals were louder. Bear are better, tuneful indie pop with noisy bits here and there. Their song If There's Such A Thing As Angels somehow reminds me a bit of Tse Tse Fly. The inside of the sleeve features a diagram of the bear's anatomy, drawn by Andru at Graphic Death.

CLAIR/SUPER EIGHT split 7" (Orgasm)
The first release from this French label which, judging by this and future releases, tends to specialise in lo-fi noise-pop. France's answer to Fluff or Sticky Records perhaps? Clair used to be Superdrug. No doubt they had to change their name because "Superdrug is a trademark of Superdrug Stores PLC" (that's what it says on my bottle of Superdrug hand and body lotion). A similar sound to Superdrug, but not quite as upbeat. The Super Eight half of this EP features the brilliant 20/20, which is typical Super Eight, plus Let's Go, which I suppose is also typical Super Eight, minus the singing. The second Super Eight track was engineered by Fluff Records' David McLaughlin. Write to Orgasm Records, 4 Square de la Chataigneraie, 78860 Saint-Nom-La-Breteche, France.

MY FAVOURITE THINGS Fruit Machine 7"
I think this is a self released single. It's far too good to be self released though, someone should sign this band immediately. Two tracks of brilliant 60s/70s style pop-rock that's so much better than most other retro bands, mainly because it sounds so much more authentic. Like My Favourite Band (you know who), My Favourite Things could be a REAL late 60s/early 70s band, not just some money grabbing fame seekers who are just jumping on the bandwagon. They are more poppy than My Favourite Band though. Don't expect OTT packaging, this comes in a plain black sleeve with a hole in the middle, which, in this case, looks good. The band name and song titles are written on the centre labels in silver pen, which can't be bad. Silver pens are brilliant, as is this single. Write to My Favourite Things at 62 The Park Paling, Coventry CV3 5LL.

SLIPSTREAM Up In Heaven & Come Back 7"s (Ché)
Good idea with the sleeves - Up In Heaven says "slipst" on the front, and Come Back says "ream", and when put together they spell out ... well, you know what they spell out. The only other Slipstream stuff I've heard is their first two singles, and I think these two new releases are far better. Up In Heaven is upbeat, rockish even at times, but a really catchy tune. Right now, that song is going around my head. The other songs are more poppy - happy sounding pop songs. The lyrics are a bit clichéd at times though, sentimental stuff like "I was the boy for you, you were the girl for me", "If I think of you I go weak inside", etc etc. Still, ignoring the soppy lyrics, these songs are good.

URUSEI YATSURA Siamese 7" (Ché)
Urusei Yatsura aren't from Japan, they are in fact from Glasgow, but are named after a Japanese cartoon character whose name is translated as "troublesome female". I know the riot grrrl scene is passé (what are the music press ranting on about now? New wave of new wave? New mod? No, I think it's something else now, I've lost track, not having looked at a music paper/magazine for a few months) but the remaining people who still believe in its ethics will no doubt kick up a stink about the name. This single contains two tracks of noise-pop which are both dead good, especially the B-side, Lo-Fi. (Anyone not keen on the idea of lo-fi, don't be put off by its title, it's not that lo-fi, it was recorded on 16 track). This is the first I've heard from Urusei Yatsura, yet they have some stuff out on other labels that I'd quite like to hear.

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