Poissons d'Avril

Today I've waited until after noon to make sure nobody thinks my comments are April Fool jokes.

Let's start with ECHOES, from Manchester, whose track "Hypnotised" begins with what could have been power chords on another instrument. There's even a hint of a choir, but this is not heavy metal. It's what I used to understand by 'indie' back in the day. It's danceable, tuneful, fairly pleasant. It's nice. Kinda like Oasis if they [oasis] were more tuneful and possibly even talented.

MOSCOW DRIVE are similar in style but with a better singer. "Colossal" sounds like a pretty good album track or perhaps a moment from the soundtrack of a film. Not one of my favourites though, at least not as a single.

McGRAWS LAW got my feet tapping and head nodding along to "Great Divide", so it's definitely catchy. Shame we can't enter something like this for the Eurovision song contest. We might actually win it. Not bad.

SEVEN SUMMERS are the traditional guitar band and "Way to Be" is good old-fashioned AOR. I can't imagine buying it, nor would it make me get up and dance.

TIGER SHADOW are a lively bunch from Leeds. "Escape" is rap over a rather pleasant rock track. Their entry seems to have been recorded from their appearance on the Tom Robinson Show on BBC Radio 6. Somebody tell the BBC to dump Radio 1 instead of 6.

COACHES TO CAMDEN say that "Pink String is a Kind of Hallucinogenic". The vocals don't start for 57 seconds, which is a shame because the vocals are the one thing that prevents this from being the second most boring track I've so far heard from all the applicants I've listened to. The vocals are excellent. Shame about everything else about this track.

ROCKETEER have an excellent press release that predisposed me to feel excited about their theatricality and the way they write their music. So, listening to "Troubadours" in this open frame of mind, I realised that while I've heard better music (they sound a little like Uriah Heep) the lyrics are brilliant. I can't wait to see their video.