Relentless

More to listen to so let's carry on. The first thing I have to say is, after listening again, the Wailingest Cats are my new number one, so the current tracks against which new ones are judged are: The Wailingest Cats (1); Daniella Maria (5); Dirty Electro (10); and Toob (20).

STRYCHNINE POISONING sound like a Heavy Metal band (I couldn't begin to guess at the subgenre) and they do what they do very well. "Filthy Whore" though is, if anything, too "nice" for metal. This may become a classic in its time but it's more for dancing than listening.

AARON COHEN has a good voice and plays a mean guitar. "Raise a Glass" is a fine song with a relentless beat that suits Aaron's voice. He's the new number 20 for a while but probably won't stay there for long unless I've already heard the best 20 tracks.

DAVID GARSIDE from Birmingham has produced what sounds like a brass-heavy rollicking piece of pop. "Don't be Scared" sounds like it should be the theme tune to a seventies detective show. I'd make it an instrumental though. The lyrics aren't very impressive but niether is his voice. On the whole I'd say this is probably somewhere in the high fifties.

THE TOI are a funk band from Glasgow. They're very good at what they do, hence the upcoming German tour. "Think About You" sounds almost like a slightly rockier version of Mustang Sally. It's great but it Aaron Cohen is, in my opinion, better so it doesn't make the top twenty even for a moment.

THE DRAMA are Swedish. "Cash is King" they say in an unrelentingly miserable way. There was a moment when I thought, the singer was too good for the band, but that was wishful thinking. I just don't like this.

THE RUBY du VALS are interesting. "The Ballad of Will Kane" brings to mind murder ballads and westerns and the songs sung at hangings. They play with a driving beat and the singer reminds me of all sorts of people from Toni Basil to Courtney Love. This is great. It's the new number 13, so Toob drop out and Woodpigeon are the new number 20 (sorry Aaron Cohen).

JONT are competent performers and the singer has a good voice. "All My Life" feels middle of the road to me. Nothing exciting here I'm afraid. If I hadn't heard so many brilliant tracks lately, I'd really like this track, but I guess I'm kinda jaded and crave originality and passion.

ROXANNE EMERY plays a gentle guitar but her voice grates on my nerves in places. That said, "Late" is a great song. Even the irritating note in her voice adds to the whole. As the song goes on, it gets better. It's in my top twenty at number 14 so Woodpigeon drop out and Long Tall Shorty take their place at number 20. Roxanne's playing at the Hope and Anchor tomorrow and if I can get the wife to come along, I may well be there.

WHITE PIGEON are a rock band from Guildford. "Sea Devil" reminds me of Steppenwolf and Golden Earring, with just a hint of Sweet to tone down the seriousness. They're not as good as Long Tall Shorty, but this is still a great track.