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Here we provide a little info and a few links for bands and artists you, or indeed we, are only just coming across. Some will be newly signed talent, some will be more established bands beginning to enjoy the success due to them, and some, due to my own indulgence, will be little bands that I think are great and I think you should be hearing about.

So, in no particular order...

Regular Fries If it's a name you've not heard yet then you're sure to soon! Regualr Fries are perhaps the most sought after of unsigned bands at the minute, and when they finally lay their signatures down major success will sure ly come calling. What they play is essentially guitar based pop, with the occasional brooding jazz-influenced elements thrown in. These together make up some quite epic, drawn out tracks, a little reminiscent of Spiritualised or even Mogwai (this from the little I've managed to hear.) Nice! Your chance to catch them is here as they're currently on tour with the Bluetones, whose axeman Adam Devlin is a known fan already!

Nothing of real value on the internet for Regular Fries yet, but it'll be here when it appears.


Belle & Sebastian "Warning: This record may contain tweeness." Their own words, but they only go a short way towards describing the music of Belle and Sebastian. Based in Glasgow they have remained remained undiscovered, largely due to their shunning the music press despite releasing two albums. The more resent EP's have found their way onto the radio, people are beginning to take notice, and a third LP is eagerly anticipated. It's been called "folk-pop", and they've been described as "swans in traffic", but what you really have is 7 ordinary people producing delicate, low-fi, melodic songs adorned with a million tiny hooks; each one a treasure not to miss out on.

In their own words:

Homepage


Embrace The most obvious band to be in any 'talent' column these days. All the talk about Embrace that's passed back and forth for these past months is not for nothing, for the rising fame of the McNamara brothers is based on solid, quality songs, not chit-chat. Scan through their last few releases, singles charting progressively higher, and discover such gems as the wall-of-sound grooves of "The Last Gas" and "One Big Family" as well as the gentler "All You Good Good People" and "Fireworks". All this and delivered with such self-confidence shows Embrace can go all the way to success of Oasis like proportions.

All the recent info:

The Raft: Embrace


Hurricane #1 When early nineties indie 'shoegazing' guitar bashers Ride broke up there was only really one path for guitarist Andy Bell. "We're not a rock'n'roll band, we're the rock'n'roll band." he said of his new outfit, Hurricane #1. After just a few singles that bold statement seems not so far from the truth. Listen to the Les Paul and Rickenbacker antics on "Step Into My World" or "Chain Reaction" and discover why he was recently rated in the top ten of best British contemporary players. The debut album was out on 15th September.

The Record co's Hurricane #1 page:

Hurricane #1


Lift Hailing from Georgia, U.S.A. does not mean Lift wouldn't have a place among British guitar bands. In fact, a place in our top 40 would, instead of polluting it with more angst-fuelled grunge efforts or packs of boy bands, bring a refreshing change. Lift's music has a beauty to it stemming from somewhere other than the Beatles or the Small Faces, with looser songs carried on chiming, atmospheric guitar lines - "Love Spreads" it aint! Though we may not see them in England for some time (if ever) their new LP "Lifelike" comes highly recommended and is available through Daemon Records. Check out the sound files on their homepage too!

The complete Lift info page:

Lift


Deadstar A new discovery for me and a band I know little about. Collecting together some of their material revealed not only the excellent recent single "Don't it Get You Down" but also the equally good 3-minute slice of pop/rock "Sex Sell" from their forthcoming eponymous album, released in the UK on August 18th. They have been compared a lot to Garbage, but Deadstar employ less studio effects and trickery and a greater slice of straight rock'n'roll. Let's hope singer Caroline Kennedy and her boys can make it as big as Shirley Manson and company!

Your one Deadstar stop:

DSR@


Scheer An Irish 5-piece in the traditional rock band format: guitars, bass, drums, scream! Although Scheer do, when they feel like it, rock with the best of them, the material on their album "Infliction", and that scattered across their singles displays quality songwriting skills. From the high-energy blast of "Shea" through the storming single "Wish You Were Dead" to the delicate acoustic "Goodbye" Scheer have the ability to match the best of them in any area. They are currently compiling material for their second album, which will hopefully introduce them to a much wider audience.

Scheer Home Page

For the full set of on-line Scheer info.


Arab Strap Pushing back the boundaries of "Low-Fi" this Scottish combo are snaring the hearts of all who manage to catch a listen. A lazy guitar line, a couple of bangs on a drum and a mix of melody and narrative slowly but surely draw you ever deeper in. Arab Strap live in the same world as us, but it never before seemed so poetic. Their finest moment so far, "The First Big Weekend" (with the rest of the album, "The Week Never Starts Round Here", snapping close on its heels) is the music on the new UK Guinness ad, in case you were wondering...

The highly stylish record co.'s pages:

Chemikal Underground Records - Arab Strap


The Sundays Few groups could return from a five year absence with such immediate recognition as The Sundays. The recent hit single "Summertime" has proved that the firm fanbase established at the end of the eighties has not only remained but is stronger than ever. It's no surprise, few could fail to fall in love with Harriet Wheeler's beautiful voice and the warmth and charm of the songs. The new album, "Static and Silence", has been received with grand comparisons to their '88 debut "Reading, Writing and Arithmatic" so it looks like this time The Sundays might stick around for a while.

The first stop for fans, new and old:

Here's Where the Story Ends


Helen Love There's something about punk/pop that makes you either love it or hate it. Helen Love churn it out at its energetic, Ramones influenced best like Kenickie tried to but ultimately found themselves too soft. These are tunes with so many hooks you should like them whether you want to or not. Check out the latest 'Love single "Does Your Heart Go Boom" and be instantly snared by its cheesey synths and buzzing guitars. With plenty more where that came from Helen Love could be a real force to be reckoned with. As they say themselves, "Put your foot on the fuzzbox baby and play play play!"

A first portion of Helen info.

Helen Love Home Page






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last updated: Friday 20th March 1998 p>

mea95dad@sheffield.ac.uk

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