PIXIE LOTT – Mama Do
Mercury
Poptastic! Ms Lott is the latest shapely blonde jailbait to make an assault on the charts, but unlike many of her peers, she has the sultry vocal to back up her scantily clad promo pics. If the rest of her debut album is up to this standard expect to see a string of number ones!
HEARTS IN PENCIL – Hannibal Ad Portas
myspace.com/heartsinpencil
This unsigned Oxford foursome have got more than just a snappy title. Eschewing poppy “indie”, this is a challenging track and, on the first listen, there’s little to love. B Side Bigger Games/Better Days is a bit too Pete Doherty for my liking, but the first track shows a band with plenty of potential, we look forward to hearing more.
ENTER SHIKARI – No Sleep Tonight
Ambush Reality
Enter Shikari throw us a curveball with their new single, going all melodic on us (well, relatively). This is still a little jagged and unconventional, but the edges have been rounded down for mass consumption, strangely it makes us like the band a whole lot more.
TWIN ATLANTIC – Lightspeed
Red Bull Records
Scots rockers Twin Atlantic are something just a bit special, coming across like a power pop Biffy Clyro. Lightspeed is a great intro for the band, the vocals take a little getting used to, but the music is immediately catchy. Expect big things from these guys.