1. Long Blondes - ‘Couples’ album

Already bored you with the review of this, in short, the best British album since The Arctic Monkeys debut.

2. Joy Division documentary.

The fact to Controls apparent fiction. Finally, the true story is fully told by all the living main players in the Joy Division story and for the first time ever, an in-depth interview with Ian Curtis’ lover, Annik Honore. Being able to see footage on the big screen highlights just what an unique band Joy Division were to be if Curtis hadn’t committed suicide rather than a brilliant chapter in UK music’s dank and dark past.

Released - May 2nd 2008

3. LCD Soundsystem - ‘Sound of silver’ (Mcsleazy remix) download

The shadowy Mcsleazy strikes again. A mainstay in what was hideously called ‘bastard pop’, Mcsleazy stays ahead of the game with what is one of his finest restylings. Chucking a whopping great breakbeat and pure electro dirt up against the minimal techno of the original makes one of the highlights of one of the best albums of last Year into an even more essential 8 minutes of musical filth which will get you sweating more than Gary Glitter looking at a box-set DVD release of the 80s pop show ‘Mini Pops’.

4. Absolutely - ‘Everything’ box set release

No, NOT Absolutely fabulous, a program so despicable I’ve ended up plunging rusty spoons repeatedly into my eyes and ears to lose all senses giving me the capability of watching and hearing that shit.

Absolutely was a genius comedy show from Scotland which landed on our screens in 1988 ending in 1993, in it they created some of the most disfunctional and brilliant characters ever seen on TV.

The Absolutely team have been trying to acquire the tapes to their shows for several years now and since a massive petition was handed in for their release, Absolutely got the tapes back and it’s finally out on DVD at the end of April putting an end to the people selling video copies on ebay for 40 quid…people power…YEAH!

5. Black Kids - ‘I’m not gonna teach your boyfriend how to dance with you’ single

The funny thing about this band right, is that, they’re not all black….and none of them are kids, hahahahahaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa.
Anyway, the buzz band for 2008 have hit a winner on this, their official debut single. Produced by Bernard Butler who after the success with Duffy, seems to be hot property production-wise, ‘Dance with you’ is endlessly uplifting pop about the singers ex girlfriends new boyfriends inability to dance as well as him; “He’s got two left feet and he bites my moves”, followed by a shout of ‘I’m not gonna teach him how to DANCE! DANCE! DANCE!”, the latter being a total steal of any Go! Team track you’ve ever heard.

6.Does it offend you, yeah? ‘You don’t know what you’re getting yourself into’ - Album

Reading four-piece, DIOYY are the epitome of Hoxton Twat or the Shoreditch slut. The joke name, the cartoon rock band image they have, the uniformed individuality of colourful Top-Man clothes, the lot. Without listening to them, they seem trite and very contrived, like a sketch from Nathan Barley but with the jokes and humour removed or if they’d seen Barley and thought it was a serious documentary about them and ‘their people’.

It’s this past form which makes their debut long player ‘You don’t know what you’re letting yourself into’ even more of a surprise. Previously a joke you would only get the skinnier your jean leg is, they have on the subtler moments produced some brilliant pop tunes as well as some fierce dance floor tracks.

‘We are rockstars’ comes on like Sex Pistols covering Daft Punk, ‘Dawn of the dead’ is luscious pop reminiscent of The Killers at their most flamboyant and oddly reminiscent of ‘Cool’ by Gwen Stefani.

‘Doomed now’ is excitable electro rock which is so teutonic and electric that it could be a modern day Joy Division track a’la ‘Isolation’, whilst ‘Weird science’ and ‘Epic last song’ are exactly what Bloc Party tried and failed to do with their recent ‘Flux’ single, the clash of moody indie rock and harsh electronics are fused to great effect on these two, what next Kele? All in all, an entertaining headache with a brace of tracks which highlight that once they stop being cool and learn how to play their instruments, they could be brilliant, here’s to their second album.

7. Girls Aloud - ‘Can’t speak French’ single.

Everybody likes Girls Aloud but most are too embarrassed to admit it and if you deny it you are a LIAR.

Throwing the reality tv band shackles away finally on their latest album; ‘Tangled up’, this highlight from that album is this sleazy sophisticated pop produced brilliantly by Xenomania. Xenomania can produce anything and make it sound good….apart from the Cher song ‘Believe’ which was how they made their name and for that they should eternally hold their heads in shame.

8. Los Campesinos! - ‘Sweet dreams, sweet cheeks’ album track

Cardiff band Los Campesinos! have made a corker of an album on the quiet. An album so seeped in indie, it’s actually bringing back memories of when indie WAS indie and not just a term used for skinny boys with guitars, I’ve not used the word indie enough there, hang on…
INDIE INDIE INDIE INDIE INDIE INDIE INDIE INDIE… that’s better…

Once you get past the odd yelping vocals which evoke images of dogs with bronchitis trying their best to bark, you are treated to wide eyed, naive gems such as this. Closing with a violin solo so sweet it’s like injecting sugar into the bloodstream, diabetics are advised to approach with caution.

9. Hot Chip - ‘Shake a fist’ album track

Underwhelming would be an understatement when describing Hot Chips recently released third long player, ‘Made in the dark’. Glimpses as inspired as this just makes the rest of the album even more frustrating. Tribal percussion and bargain bin eighties breakbeats lead the track which culminates in three minutes of dirty hard house hoover action.

10.Radiohead - ‘Bodysnatchers’ album track

‘The head’ at their best, finally a track by them you can dance to too although filled with the usual Thom Yorke lyrical paranoia but hey, it’s got a good beat you can dance to so let’s ignore the sentiment yeah?