Seeing as this is the first update of this year, I thought I'd have a look at some new bands that have caught my ear in the last three months.....

IDLEWILD

Hailing from my vaery own native Edinburgh no less, this is essentially four studes making one hell of a lot of noise. As with everyone who makes a lot of noise, they end up either getting blamed for, or compared with Husker Du. Seeing as most of this band were about 12 when the Huskers split up, they fall into the somewhat overfull category of Huskers imitators.....Unfortunately they fail to stand up against Minneapolis's finest guitar abusers. Singer Roddy Woomble does a reasonably convincing Bob Mould, and has been quoted as saying that "making a lot of noise is a great way of being miserable and angry" but unfortunately the rage and anger of the Huskers is exactly what Idlewild lack. Which leaves, errrm, someone screaming over loud guitars. Check out 'New Day Rising' instead.....the original and best.

ULTRASOUND

Talked about, variously, as the new Pink Floyd, the new Radiohead, and stretching the imagination right over to somewhere to the left of breaking point, the new Suede, Ultrasound are supposedly figureheads for the new wave of New Prog Roc, or whatever the (now not-so) inkies are calling it this week. For sure, they're far too wilfully awkward, and not nearly marketable enough to be this year's Big Thing (though how many might have said that about Thom Yorke and OK Computer?). but on the strength of Best Wishes, and Suckle, they're worth investigating, and awesome live, apparently.

THEAUDIENCE

The band name suggests some kind of monumentally awkward pseudy indie type setup, when if the truth be told, they're actually purveyors of unusually good quality AOR. Lead singer Sophil Bextor looks like a natural target for the glossies, while her Chrissie Hynde like vocals may win over older mainstream music fans. Unfortunately, while theaudience are doubtless clever and sophisticated, what is clever and sophisticated is rarely very exciting or immediate, and on the strength of their first top 50 single, "If you can't do it when you're young...." neither are theaudience. So, judgement reserved for now. Christ, its got to be better than fucking Sleeper.