Dirty Pretty Things - Bang Bang You're Dead (Vertigo) Reviewed By Steve Rudd Release date : April 24th 2006

Whenever 'legendary' bands split, fans of such bands tend to fear the worst, and that life will never the same again. When Pete stumbled out of The Libertines fray for good, a great many people mourned such a fact - yet it wasn't long before he returned with his Babyshambles project of greatness that has in due course made Pete something of a household name... although his crazy drug-taking antics have also had a part to play in 'raising' his profile.

Likewise, when the remaining Libertines disappeared off the scene, Libertine-lovers understandably panicked. The Libertines had, after all, had a huge impact on the garage rock 'n' roll scene in the UK and had inspired countless bands to hook up and rock out with loud guitars and zestful swagger. The Paddingtons, from Hull, was one such band. So, when Libertines frontman Carl Barat announced that he was working on new material with a 'new' band called Dirty Pretty Things, a great sigh of relief swept over everybody who had ever loved anything by The Libertines.

Here, finally, is the band's debut single, which is naturally set to feature on the debut album. The great news is that Carl's distinctive vocal style is all present and correct, just like the tried and tested brilliance of The Libs' good old rock 'n' roll riffage (belted out by DPT's guitar god Anthony Rossomando) that dominates every last second of this storming anthem that revolves around its catchy chorus. What did you expect?, wails Carl, Oh, tell me what did you expect? Well?...

Album/EP Reviews - Hey Negrita - The Buzz Above (Fat Fox) Reviewed By Steve Rudd
	Blessed with stunning single release Can't Walk Away, that opens this twelve-track album, Hey Negrita return with their eagerly-awaited second album. And, thankfully, the London quintet is sounding better than ever. Fronted by Felix Bachtolsheimer, the band fuses an emotionally mature brand of Americana with rousing Indie-Rock influences. There aren't Read more...

Album/EP Reviews - Sandi Thom - Smile ... It Confuses People (Viking Legacy) Release Date: June 5th 2006 Reviewed By Steve Rudd
	If you think that KT Tunstall is an outstanding talent, it's high-time you became better acquainted with Sandi Thom. Whilst KT is a truly incredible singer-songwriter, the Tooting-based Sandi somehow seems to be an even more extraordinary songwriter in a league of her own, armed with a cauldron of top melodies and a voice literally to die for. This debut Read more...

Album/EP Reviews - The Fondas - Dirty Kicks (Level Sound) Release Date: April 8th 2006 Reviewed By Steve Rudd
	Fans of vibrantly anthemic rock 'n' roll music could do worse than seek out this 12-track album from this quartet, a four-piece that hails from the South Wales/ Bristol area where they're a well-known outfit on the back of having played plenty of gigs in the region. Fronted by Andy Ward, D'ya Feel Lucky? hears the band hit their stride right from the opening Read more...

Music, Band Biog- Introducing InI Oneness and the UK Players
	The Band In a country where digital dub has ruled the roost for the past decade, InI Oneness & the UK Players are a breath of fresh air. Very much a live band; InI Oneness & the UK Players have been working together since the summer of '97, and have clocked up over 200 gigs to date. They have released a 7" single called Further and more recently the acclaimed debut Read more...

Single Reviews - The Human Value - Give Me (Big Deal) Reviewed By Steve Rudd
	Armed with band members from as far-flung places as Cuba, Greece, Spain and North America, this fresh quartet is making some exceptionally exciting sounds courtesy of this debut single. Here is an Alt.-rock band with commanding attitude, fronted as it is by the feisty Turu - who used to be in the band The Send Effect. Turu, in The Human Value's initial Read more...

Album Review - In the Head of a Dreamer by Mary (Copenhagen) By Sean
	Picture yourself lying in a field of long grass, it's 1969. You've kicked off your battered boots and your large flowery shirt lies open, as the sun beats down on you from a cloudless sky. You've just been to Woodstock festival, you're a little bit stoned, and lethargy has kicked in. you're ears are ringing a bit, and you're clutching a guitar that you're too exhausted to play. Read more...

Single Reviews - Hey Negrita - Can't Walk Away (Fat Fox) Release Date : 24th April 2006 Reviewed By Steve Rudd
	Hey guys! Hey gals! Guess who it is? It's Hey Negrita!!! This band might be based in London, but their sweeping Country-cradled rock sound has come via Nashville, Tennessee to a large degree. Indeed, Hey Negrita's brand of Americana revolves around some beautiful melodies and soulfully melancholic vocals from frontman Felix. Can't Walk Away is a chilled-out Read more...

Single Reviews - Tajinere - Ours Tonight / Welcome (Heart of the Nation) Reviewed By Steve Rudd
	It's all about the music. Nothing else is important, beams Tajinere, an exciting Hip-Hop artist who has recently returned to live in Hull. He used to live in Hull, but in 2004 he took off travelling and spent some time in Australia and Guatemala. Now he's back, and he's focusing all his energy on music, with this double-A side single being his debut release. Ours Tonight is a chilled-out Read more...

Album Review - Demo Review - The Johnsons By Chu Nin
	The Johnsons from Hull, are not to be confused with New York piano warbler Anthony and the... Having recruited ex Fraction of The Cost drummer and the old drummer moving forward to play guitar -apparently nobody realised he was actually a fine axe man- they are now revitalised and hitting us with a revamped quad of songs. Carnivore starts conspiratorial and hushed with stripped Read more...

Music News - Pitiful Reign Update
	In their first year, Pitiful Reign have played over fifty gigs, including their first one overseas in Bari, on the north east coast of Italy. Among the sixty live dates booked already this year the band are looking to include more European appearances, this time in Germany. They have already secured a return trip to Italy. For such a young band - average age in the group 18 Read more...

Album/EP Reviews - The Vibrants (4-track EP) Release Date: March 14th 2006 Reviewed By Steve Rudd
	Quite why this band remains unsigned is one heck of a mystery. Truth is, this London-lounging quintet is more than living up to its name with the blazing-hot brand of garage-trashing rock 'n' roll that is being produced by The Vibrants. This eponymous EP was recorded at Pete Townsend's Oceanic Studios no less, and The Who is just one band that has inspired Read more...

Music News - Killer of Saints Update
	Local men of metal Killer of Saints have been recording at the Chapel Studios and working alongside renowned studio men Ewan Davies and Will Bartle - past artists include, Machine Head, Sikth, Cradle of Filth - Their latest offering comes to you by way of a new EP due end of May. Look out for details of launch night coming soon. In the meantime you can see the band Read more...

Single Reviews - The Answer - Into The Gutter (Albert) Release Date: 24th April 2006 Reviewed By Steve Rudd
	On the back of an appetite-whetting EP release, and in front of their eagerly awaited 12-track debut album that is set to land in Summer '06, this single is surely destined to help in making this young quartet something of a household name. Already they have enjoyed fabled support slots with titans of hard rock Deep Purple, and the sound of The Answer owes a Read more...

Album Reviews - Ellenby - All You Need To Know (Level Sound) Release Date: 10th April 2006 Reviewed By Steve Rudd
	And all you need to know is that this album is a sheer pleasure to listen to, as this duo delivers stunning song after song. There are ten tracks in all that all mix and mash together beguiling Folk, Pop and Rock elements to intoxicating effect, with Liz Young the singer of the duo, leaving multi-instrumentalist Ben Goddard to create the wondrous and consistently Read more...

Album Reviews - Hi Flyer - Here Comes The Sunshine (Reiker) Reviewed By Steve Rudd
	Having been masterfully engineered by Portishead bassist Jim Barr, this melodic Pop-Rock album comes from a young band from Bristol, with two of the members being brother and sister Henry and Elle Williams, who are backed up by Mike Edwards and Tom Raiff. All of the songs are easy listening mid-paced anthems, and any one of them could quite easily get Read more...

Single Reviews - Rob McCulloch - Planet Of My Own (Gladrag) Reviewed By Steve Rudd
	Following-up his fantastic Thoughts Alone album, this fresh-faced and hugely talented singer-songwriter from Bolton releases his debut single, Planet Of My Own - an awesomely catchy slab of chart-hungry indie-rock for the masses. I can't sleep, confides Rob - This world won't turn with me. His gruffly soulful voice is a Godsend, and is perhaps heard best on b-side Read more...

Single Reviews - Archie Bronson Outfit - Dart For My Sweetheart (Domino) Reviewed By Steve Rudd
	This single from the somewhat mysterious ABO entity is deliciously dark and menacing and will surely appeal to any fans of Nick Cave's musings. The guitar melodies are charged with intriguing malice, and yet the b-side in Fire Horse is still exhilarating in its own unique right, buoyed by a striking intensity in the face of such compelling darkness. This Outfit has been Read more...

Album Reviews - Japan - The Very Best of ... (Virgin) Reviewed By Steve Rudd
	As the old saying goes, you can never have too many compilation albums to chart a band's career. So, with this in mind, here's yet another Japan Best of to add to the long list of previous compilations that highlight all the classic tunes that the Brit group pumped out. Fronted by David Sylvian (who went on to have a successful solo career following the band's break-up), Read more...

Music News - Monday 27th March 06 - Bestfrontseat.com and Raw-UK - One small step in a Welly, one giant leap... 'Give It Some Welly' By Isabelle Tracy
	Putting aside tribal and territorial differences, most of the local promoters, musicians and media people in Hull came to The Welly to support this event - or just to have a nosey - or maybe even to see if it was going to fall on its arse. Well, it didn't. After 3 songs from the first band to test the signals, there was a delay of 10 minutes to the gig going live over the internet - due to one of Read more...

Single Reviews - Engerica - The Smell (Sanctuary) Reviewed By Steve Rudd
	This madcap trio has to be witnessed, whether via record or in a live situation. Truth is, they are awesome, if a tad eccentric and zany in their frantic rock 'n' roll ways. Fronted by David Gardner, these three guys were going great guns a couple of years ago, but then they seemed to disappear without a trace for a while before re-launching themselves back into the Read more...

Album Reviews - The Bonnitts - Soldier (Demo) By Joe Hakim Photos by Darren Rogers - The Bonnitts at The Sesh 13th December 2005
	Well, thank fuck for The Bonnitts. Just when I was starting to think that the Hull music scene was in danger of disappearing up its own arse, along comes this blinder of an EP to totally change my mind. I'm going to rattle on about Soldier for a while, because it is, quite simply, the best thing I've heard in a long time. It kicks off with a sublime guitar-line, coupled with singer Mike Wright Read more...