Rock/pop

The latest releases reviewed.

THE CORONAS Heroes or Ghosts 3ú Records ** *

Fresh as daisies and jaded as a dying poppy in late November, The Coronas are still searching for their voice, and, on this debut, they occasionally find it and produce impressive music. The Talk has justifiably charted on the back of shiny, happy guitar lines and a vocal confidence, but the band doesn't quite manage to sustain it beyond occasional shards of inspiration. Lyrically weak, particularly on the predictable San Diego Show and a sub-Jeff Buckley ode, Make a Change, The Coronas still show signs of a backbone that just might set them apart - if they can jettison some of the road weary, time-worn cliches that riddle this collection. Still, the light-fingered Filtho is a delirious spike in their cardiograph: a sign of peaks to come? www.thecoronas.net SIOBHÁN LONG

Download tracks: Filtho, It's the Joker

CAPTAIN MOONLIGHT Agroculture Pt 2 - The Return of the Barnstomers Reflect the Sun Records ** *

The natives are getting restless, and if Irish countryside cute hoor Captain Moonlight is anything to go by - if we're not careful, that is - restlessness could soon turn into rebellion. Coming on like a hurley-wielding version of Scary Eire mixed with the guttural good bits of Damien Dempsey, Captain Moonlight arrives onto the pitch aching for a ruck. Not many aspects of changing Irish culture escape his verbal lashings: politics (sexual and otherwise), religion (or lack thereof), economics and more receive a battering. Moonlight's delivery is relentless, his lyrics ducking and diving between a little bit of cliche and a lot of common sense. This is more than just familiar hip-hop as Gaeilge, however; every track has more than a notion of distinction and individuality. The result is one of those always-welcome bolts from the blue; a brand new name in Irish music with something fresh and genuinely interesting to say. TONY CLAYTON-LEA

NEVER MIND THE PAN PIPES Indie Pan Pipe Hits Ernest Records **

An unnamed band of musical gypsies (not the High Llamas, I'll bet) have recorded full versions of today's best-loved indie hits, replacing the vocals with this supremely irritating Peruvian instrument. In a reductio ad absurdum of indie music, hits by The Fratellis, The Gossip, The Cribs and Kaiser Chiefs have been stripped down to their windy components. Give this CD to your local Peruvian- blanketed buskers and they can expand their repertoire beyond My Heart Will Go On, adding such indie classics as The White Stripes' Seven Nation Army, Kooks' Naive and The Killers' When You Were Young. The idea is funny for about two seconds, after which you want to take a length of pipe to the perpetrators. Still, Razorlight's America is vastly improved. After all, not even the most annoying instrument in the world could be as annoying as Johnny Borrell. www.myspace.com/nevermindthepanpipes KEVIN COURTNEY

Download tracks: Chelsea Dagger, Ruby

TACKS, THE BOY DISASTER Oh, Beatrice Ark Recordings ****

This Austin, Texas quartet is led by Evan Jacobs, who was previously seen wearing a white robe as a member of Polyphonic Spree. They found their name in an obscure book Jacobs found in an antiques store, and there's a strange, time- shifting mood to the seven songs on this mini-album. It could be the slightly off-key piano plinks, the organ swirls straight from an old-fashioned fairground, or the slighty skewed romanticism of songs such as Frozen Feet, Paris, Forget-Me-Not and Last Stand - these seven tunes are dripping with old-world atmosphere and folksy fragility. Add in the choral precision of the vocal harmonies and you have a lush, lovely set of tunes which swoop gracefully through some beautiful moods. www.tackstheboydisaster.com  KEVIN COURTNEY

Download Tracks: Frozen Feet, Paris, Queen of the Fishermen