Be There (Freezer Recordings) By Steve Rudd

This single is heart-warming indie-pop music of the highest order, from a fresh quartet that is fronted by the naturally talented singer and guitarist Leon Black. The band's chirpy Be There anthem is a perfect summer-suited tune for the masses to smile along to, being an electro-edged gem - and hugely commercial to boot. B-side Prozac Generation is just as poppy, while the Dirty Blue Gene remix of Be There also impresses.

Be There is taken from the band's Uppers And Downers album, and given the nature of this single release, the band Leon are clearly as cool and as quirky as bands such as The Flaming Lips, with Lee Horsley providing some hugely funky waves of melody - courtesy of his keyboard - that really set the band's sound in motion. So don't be square - Be There for indie-pop music rarely gets any better. 8/10 www.whothehellisleon.com

Single Reviews - Tsar - Band-Girls-Money (TVT) By Steve Rudd
	This cracking single is taken from the band's latest album, the follow-up to their debut LP that came out some five years ago, back in the year 2000. Tsar hail from LA where they have a strong following, but more and more people over here in the UK are fast -tracking their passions in favour of Tsar and their quest for worldwide domination. Read more...

Single Reviews - The Jim Muir Slideshow - Tomorrow's World, Today (Bowmans Capsule Records) By Nick Quantrill
	Tomorrow's Word, Today is the final part of a trilogy of releases from The Jim Muir Slideshow. Conceived as a refuge from the stresses of working in the medical profession, the trilogy started with the initial aim of ensuring the sanity of its participants. A single of the week award from The Guardian Read more...

Singles Reviews - Chart Review 13th June 2005 with DJ Chris Plant
	I had an unfortunate experience on Sunday evening. A long car journey meant that just for a change I was in a position to listen to the chart show on a certain national radio station. You'll know the one I mean, the one that used to have a host that actually cared about what he was playing and what it meant for each artist to have each chart position. Read more...

Music News - White Rose Movement - Supporting The Infidels at Silhouette Saturday 18th June 05.
	If you have already heard Love Is A Number, the debut single from London's White Rose Movement, then this introduction is unnecessary. The attitude, the groove, the hooks, and the spiky pop sensibility, speak louder than any press release. But if you're looking to fill the next 30 seconds while you cue up the record, Read more...

Single Reviews - Kate Aumonier - Much Like Yesterday (Sanctuary) By Steve Rudd
	Things are looking bright for this pretty young thing, and surely to goodness this fresh-faced singer-songwriter will wind up remembering this year fondly, given the potential fame and fortune that could very well edge her way on the back of this superb release. Much Like Yesterday (which, interestingly, was co-composed by Jez Ashurst - the cheeky front man of pop-rockers Farrah) Read more...

Single Reviews - Hey Negrita - Devil In My Shoes (Fat Fox) By Steve Rudd
	Truly a mighty tune to help you breathe more easily, the anthemic vibes therein are born out of a monstrously angular guitar riff being creatively pinned up against a wicked dance beat. The resulting high octane energy levels more than mean business, and there isn't one dull second of Read more...

Single Reviews - Beach - Burning Up (Sliding Vinyl) By Steve Rudd
	Truly a mighty tune to help you breathe more easily, the anthemic vibes therein are born out of a monstrously angular guitar riff being creatively pinned up against a wicked dance beat. The resulting high octane energy levels more than mean business, and there isn't one dull second of Read more...

Singles Reviews - Chart Review 30th May 2005 with DJ Chris Plant
	My American friend emailed me on Sunday afternoon with an air of deep concern. Is it true that a ringtone has topped the singles chart over there? Well of course if you are a newspaper hack the answer is Yes, a ten second ringtone is indeed the Number One single in the UK and it is the end of the music Read more...

Singles Reviews - Chart Review 23rd May 2005 with DJ Chris Plant
	Ten years is a long time, whichever way you look at it. Musically speaking it is a whole world away, the summer of 1995 now regarded as the golden summer of Britpop, when the likes of Pulp, Supergrass, Blur and of course Oasis battled it out side by side at the top of a revitalised singles chart. Read more...

Album Reviews - Back To Base featuring Benjamin Zephaniah - Heading For The Door By Suzanne Hicks
	A fabulous blend of chilled, haunting guitars, gentle hip-hop and reggae drum beats with Benjamin Zephaniahs' soothing voice reciting his poetry. This album has something for every mood. Mostly relaxing with some fantastic funky house beats as well as African tribal rhythms and eastern influences Read more...

Album Reviews - The Vultures Rebel Yelp EP By Michelle Dee
	The Vultures still play hard, fast, punky rock n roll. However they appear to have changed since last year which apart from seeing them recently at Ringside with Break Even and Soulflame, I'm sad to say is when I saw them last. The days of playing a twenty song set in ten minutes are behind them, okay slight Read more...

Music News - Silence in the Streets Northern Stroll Charity Walk from Hull to London
	On Sunday 22nd May, 20-30 people (I'm not quite sure of the numbers) started walking to London from the Humber Bridge, Hull. The walk is for charity with each member of the party choosing a charity to raise sponsorship money for. This whole initiative has been started by Silence in the Streets. Through this and our monthly nights Read more...

Singles Reviews - Chart Review 16th May 2005 with DJ Chris Plant
	Firstly, sorry I haven't written a singles chart review for over a month. I have been in Las Vegas having a great time...On with this weeks review. Despite strong competition from a, shall we say, expected unexpected source, Akon's Lonely stands proud at the top of the charts for a second week at Number One. Read more...

Album/CD Reviews New CD's available from Joesolo By Nick Quantrill
	Following the acclaimed release of his debut solo CD An Exile in Suburbia in 2004, ex Lithium Joe front-man Paul Thompson returns with ten new brand recordings. The Man Who Dreamed Of Fairyland tackles some of the major issues that touch on all our lives. Lyrically it considers the paradoxes Read more...

Single Reviews - Hal - Play The Hits (Rough Trade) By Steve Rudd
	Following up their chirpy What A Lovely Dance hit, Play The Hits' is quite frankly a fabulous tune from this refreshing Irish four-piece. These fellows go all out to hit upon classic melodies and harmonies that burrow their way into the hearts and minds of their listeners - and that Brian Wilson would die for. This song has been written by band front man David Allen Read more...

Music, Album Reviews - Oasis: Don't Believe The Truth By Nick Boldock
	There was a time when it would sound faintly ridiculous to suggest that Oasis would ever again record a great album. Their last effort - 2002's Heathen Chemistry - suggested a renaissance, and despite mediocre media interest did contain some brilliance, most notably the Noel-sung numbers Little By Little and Force Of Nature. Certainly it was a sign of Read more...

Single Reviews - Hood - The Negatives (Domino) By Steve Rudd
	Well, there's nothing quite like being positive - even if they're Hood and they're playing The Negatives. For starters, this band's music is certainly intriguing and thoroughly fascinating, not least because they refuse to conform when it comes to writing conventionally structured songs. The two b-sides that are tagged on the back of this single release, just Read more...

Music News - Leeds Festival - Calling all unsigned bands from the North of England!
	This years' Leeds Festival will be providing a new stage for unsigned bands. The Mean Fiddler, organisers of the festival have teamed up with local BBC Radio show, Raw Talent, Sandman Magazine and The Cockpit in Leeds to select 20 bands who will perform on the new stage this August. It's an incredible opportunity Read more...

Single Reviews - Bodyrockers - I Like The Way (Mercury) By Steve Rudd
	The type of tune that you either love or loathe, this latest anthem from this troupe of Dance-dazed musicians is taking the nation by storm regardless, and the Top 40 really cannot resist a tune of this calibre. This release heaves with some epic remixes of the song, but rarely do remixes compare Read more...

Single Reviews - Wherewithal - Sixth Form Poetry (Foolproof) By Steve Rudd
	This fem-fronted quintet sure isn't taking any prisoners, ballsily bursting out of the Farnborough area with gusto. Stacy Hart is the singer, and what a singer she is. Holding the rest of the band in check with her fantastic vocal musings, Stacy possesses a strong and distinctive voice that dominates the music, with such music Read more...

Album Reviews - Rumpus - EP By Michelle Dee
	This offering from Sheffield band Rumpus - features seven varied tracks of atmospheric unusual electro death rock. They have managed to mix up the genres of Indie rock with a shade of electronica and a hefty slab of death metal vocals. This ambitious approach stands up well to scrutiny and has Read more...