Andy Tullock's Music Column February to March 06 (6/7)

(1/7), (2/7), (3/7), (4/7), (5/7), (6/7), (7/7).

2006 is being heralded as an important year for the breakthrough acts of last year, and whilst we wait and they ponder, a few more musical mature acts are popping up out the woodcock to make sure that their VIP passes still work after the first wave of the youth revolution. First to be nodded through are the Jose Mourinho-fronted Flaming Lips, with a song as good as anything they've done previously.

Being further enhanced by a beautifully-Dylan-inspired video, The Yeah Yeah Yeah Song further enhances the Lips unique place in modern music, though strangely omits any mention of Karen O & co. Weird harmonies, highly morale messages and strange changes of direction are still present. Alongside them come the slightly newer Shout Out Louds who seem to have a never ending line of good records flowing from their sleeves. Again probably one of their best to date, Please Please Please is the perfect song to welcome in Spring's expected heat waves and hay fever showers.

And for those rainier days, we can always rely on Two Gallants to offer us a bit of gravel to get us through. This time it's an epic as recent single Las Cruces Jail brings back memories of Neil Young's Hurricane and Cash's Folsom Prison Blues, with similar and expected country legendary status. As the summer showers pass but the clouds cover the sun, Sandi Thom will serenade us with her I Wish I Was A Punk Rocker.

And no you don't have to worry, it's not a follow-up single to Techno Heads I Wanna Be A Hippy, its altogether different. Taking Kt Tunstall's backing band from Black Horse & the Cherry Tree and aspiring to Mary J Blige vocals we are treated to this years simplest single. And for the end of the song, just stick Nouvelle Vagues entire album after. The French maestro's covers LP is pure delight from start to finish, yet I still can't get past this version of The Undertones Teenage Kicks, even John Peel would be proud. If that sun does start to break the cloud, then The Wallflowers Beautiful Side of Somewhere will help to entice the old fellow.

Then you can go cruising in your Cadillac to AfroMan and, after avoiding Because I Got High for legal reasons, you can switch to Sell Your Dope and pretend your Tim Westwood! Whilst AfroMan may have the biggest cheek and humour of all US' rappers, he seems to be the one most consistently, if not similarly, producing good sing-a-long (in the most respectable way) records, and he's more then a one weed wonder.

And if you get tired of the beats then glance back to the 50's and forward to The Pipettes and get a bit of Doo-Wop on the stereo; it may get a few frowns from da hood but will have them singing along also by the second chorus of Judy.

And if they get itchy trigger fingers, stick on Jurassic 5 and I guarantee it'll be fine. Though they may not have made it big here, they have a huge diverse underground following, and this Jayou should glide you in well to their vibe - sort of a Barbershop Quartet for the 21st Century also check Concrete Schoolyard. If this kind of undiscovered music exploration is your taste then Gogol Bordello and The Knife are definitely two to look up. The former is a Russian Gypsy punk rocker that featured in last months list, whilst the latter are following in the footsteps of Tom Vek and meeting on the line of dance and indie with some great effects.

Though Silent Shout my come across as more trance then anything it has a unique effect of pulling you into their world where boundaries fray. Philosophical.

Continued..... Next Page (7/7).

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