Kevin Courtney's guide to singles, downloads and free audiostreams
KATE NASH Mouthwash **
Her single, Foundations, was a breath of fresh air, and now the germ-free adolescent from London delivers a feminist hygiene anthem that guarantees we'll be kissing with confidence. A bit antiseptic, though, this one.
HYBRASIL San Fran Manazo Records **
These Wickla lads can certainly rock a riff and bleep out a beat, but too often they chug along in the same groove until the whole thing loses momentum. Still, this is one of their better tunes, and you'll soon be ooh-oohing along to the kiddie chorus. www.hybrasil.com
ROYSEVEN Crash www.royseven.com **
In the race to be the next Snow Patrol, the Roy boys deliver a festival-fit anthem a la Eyes Open. Few can keep up with the powerhouse vocals of Paul Walsh, but the band do leave a big pause between verse and chorus, just so the fans can take a breath before singing along.
CHRIS SINGLETON Pieces/Gimme Something Brownpaper Records/Universal ***
This Dublin expat wrote his debut album, Twisted City, on the London Underground, each song repping a stop on the line. Pieces is a gentle trip from Mornington Cresent, and Gimme Something a mad whirl through Picadilly Circus.
KATIE MELUA If You Were a Sailboat Dramatico *
Katie recently played a concert under the sea, in an oil rig; she must have got a dose of the bends, though, since she seems to have mistaken her boyfriend for a 40-foot yacht. Elsewhere, she compares him to a cowboy, a river, a house and a piece of wood. Now, if I were a carpenter . . .
MARK KNOPFLER True Love Will Never Fade Mercury ***
Ah, Money for Nothing, Sultans of Swing - remember the days when Dire Straits ruled the rock roost? Knopfler's getting on a bit, so these days he's dealing in gentle, Richard Hawley-style crooning. Pleasant enough, I suppose, but we still want our MTV.
ALTER BRIDGE Rise Today Island *
Whenever Spider-Man swings onto the big screen, you can bet there'll be an epic grunge-metal tune booming along on the soundrack. This Orlando band have all those Audioslave/ Nickelback moves down pat, but only a green goblin would actually listen to this at home.
