THE BAMBOO KIDS
Suck The Life Out Of Me / Right On (Pro-Vel Records; 7")
     Well, call me old-fashioned but when I stick a seven incher on the deck I expect it to play at 45rpm. That this one plays at 33.1/3 for no apparent reason and doesn't say anywhere on the label or sleeve that it does took me rather by surprise. Anyway, The Bambook Kids are a three piece from (I assume from the label / studio data) New York or its environs. I don't know if it's intentional or not, but they have a distinctly anglophile sound. This is punk (circa '77 rather than '66) at least to my ears. The top side has a very period British 'oi,oi,oi' thing going on which is fine and rather endearing (I don't mean that patronisingly at all, it's just I was there the first time round, and it made me feel all warm inside!!) but I prefer the flip which is a bit of a slow burner with chunky chords and again that certain c.77-8 era guitar tone on the power chords that give it a retro edge even if it's not meant to have one. White vinyl with a black label, on a black turntable mat looks pretty cool when you watch it revolving (I really must get out more!). So, in short, one as much for 70s punk fans as it is for contemporary rock'n'rollers. It has the energy and the feel.
www.thebambookids.com
Paul Martin

THE CHESTERFIELD KINGS
The Mindbending Sounds Of... (Sundazed; CD)
     The Chesterfield Kings are still with us. Although now elder statesmen the Kings proudly shake their tail feathers at all the young dudes - and they still have the hair and threads too -- looking like the result of a one-night stand between Aftermath era Stones (Greg and Andy even have the Brian Jones shoes) and the New York Dolls! The Mindbending Sounds Of…(their seventh studio album) is a wonderful homage to American psych-punk garage circa 1967. Think Electric Prunes, Chocolate Watchband, Seeds, Music Machine, Third Bardo, We The People… and yes, the Stones! As a portrayal of the more wigged out end of the garage-band spectrum this is perfect! Want psych-punk? You got it! The Kings have never been ones to invent, but in being musical magpies they have succeeded in recreating the finest psych-punk mayhem. File under: still got it!
www.sundazed.com
Jon 'Mojo' Mills

THE FRANTIC FLATTOPS
Hi-Fi Honey Revisited (Get Hip; CD)
     Most of this album sounds like it could have been recorded in 1956. To rockabilly aficionados, that's what makes it a good record. They love their traditional music and like it raw and pure. Many fans of other musical genres that will never trouble the mainstream share this essentially conservative approach. The same could be said of many purist rock'n'roll, blues, beat and 60's garage bands. 
     Others see such a traditional approach to a musical genre as an evolutionary cul-de-sac. They think you need to experiment with traditional forms or the music and its fans will be stuck in a time-warp. Would the original creators of the music have wanted their styles to be frozen in time, so that musicians still play in the same way almost half a century later? 
     I don't know. What I do know is that if you like simple, straight ahead, no-frills rockabilly, you will probably like this. You get the entire FlatTops 1993 US debut album, some live bonus cuts and three songs recorded with rockabilly legend Ronnie Dawson. It's hard to keep your feet still. This is party music that gets you on the dance floor. It sounds out of place listening to it in an armchair in your living room.
www.gethip.com
Phil Suggitt

THE GENE DRAYTON UNIT
El Escondido / Julie Wednesday (Disques Carmel; 7")
     London's hottest mod/jazz/groovy act The Gene Drayton unit have more sides than a coin and on this their latest smoking platter the jazzy dukes' versatility once again impress. 'El Escondido' is an uplifting rasping sax led pounder with a driving bass line and dance floor organ that would have worked wonderfully in the compulsory club section of The Man From Uncle whilst 'Julie Wednesday' is a slower paced number; with it's mellow sax, reedy Hammond and subtle rocksteady vibe it wouldn't have sounded out of place in a cruise liner dinner scene in a Gerry Anderson puppet show. Comparing these guys' music to'60s TV shows is about the best way to get my message across. This is groovy stuff, without tongue in cheek. As cool as late September! 
www.genedraytonunit.com
Jon 'Mojo' Mills

THE GILJOTEENS
Without You EP (Screaming Apple; 7")
     I've raved about these guys before and I will again. In an era where garage means anything but… The Giljoteens reclaim the '60s teen-band primitive jangle sound and make it their own. Four great tracks of PROPER melancholic angst!!! Essential!
www.screaming-apple-records.de 
Jon 'Mojo' Mills

THE INDIKATION
Ain't That Love / Yes I Do (Screaming Apple; 7")
     Also from the icy climes of Norway are purist Scando-'60s beat merchants The Indikation whose Larsen debut received a mega thumbs up a few months ago. These two authentic sounding slices of beat-pop were recorded at Toe Rag in 2002, and see the band turning in a class mix of beat and soul in a very long haired mod manner. Like many die-hards The Indikation don't have an original bone in their body, but they know what they like. Their cover of Tony's Defender's 'Yes I Do' sums up exactly where they're at! The mod band to watch out for!
www.screaming-apple-records.de
Jon 'Mojo' Mills

THEE JENERATORS
Jenerator X (Twist Records; CD)
     Fronted by Mark Le Gallez, The Jenerators turn in an EP (I assume that's what it is - 10 tracks in 18 minutes?) of modern fuzz guitar and heavy bass line beaters. At the risk of sounding like some old grouch from a forgotten generation, the problem is that they all sound pretty much the same. There's nowt wrong with the execution or the production (mixed by Liam Watson at Toe Rag), but it has the air of a work in progress where the individuality of the songs or an identifiable unity of purpose of the band has yet to be thrashed out (probably quite literally!). Perhaps it's intended to sound like a bunch of mates having a bit of a blast for the sake of it, there's nothing wrong with that if so, but there's also nothing in particular that makes the ears prick up. Good enough for what it is, but certainly no cigar.
contact@theejenerators.com
Paul Martin

THE MAGGOTS
Do the Maggot! (Low Impact; CD)
     I had a good feeling about this record because in the mid-'80s Mans Mansson played guitar with The Crimson Shadows, one of the leading lights of the terrific Swedish garage band scene. Unfortunately it is rather disappointing. 
     One of the problems is that Mans is the main vocalist, yet his voice lacks character and has a limited range (Ed: It's not for me either Phil, but I guess it's how they wanna sound!). The strongest tunes are the slower less noisy ones where he is supported by drummer Jonas Lundberg's backing vocals.
     The second problem is the 'hard rock' feel that has replaced the 80's garage sound on some of the songs. Each decent, simple tune is bookended by a couple of dour, humourless 'rock' songs with flat vocals. For example, the first two cuts, 'Baby I'm Lost', and 'Goin' Ga Ga (Over You)' get the album off to a weak start. Things pick up with song three, 'Make Me Shake', but this pattern is repeated.
Phil Suggitt

MANDO DIAO
Bring 'Em In' (Mute; CD)
     Yes, you read that correctly. Shindig! is reviewing a release on Mute! Ah, the crazy nature of this business some other chaps call "the new rock revolution". The obvious conclusion would seem to be that the label have realised that electronic burbling isn't what floats the young folks' boat at the moment, and have decided to find their very own Hives, i.e. five attractive young Swedish gentlemen playing garage rock. That synopsis would be unfair to Mando Diao though: although there are some superficial similarities to "that other band" (largely down to the '60s veneer of their music and bombing through certain songs at 100mph) they're far more musically variable. First song 'Sheepdog' kicks
in with some very Charlatans (Manchester not SF) organ, but they then tackle ballads ('Mr Moon'),
     Rezillos-meets-St. Etienne new wave ('The Band' and melodic dad-rock ('Lady', a worthwhile listen despite the cringe-inducing description of female as "my old lady"...urgh!) {Ed: Well R&R isn't PC!}. Best of all is 'To China With Love', which begins as blue-eyed soul reminiscent of The Box Tops, takes in a instrumental middle eight of twangy guitar worthy of The Tornadoes at their finest and climaxes with a choir of squeaky la-la-la-ing and horns. Excellent. At least three-quarters of this album exemplify what great pop music should be. Couple of disparaging comments must be made though. First: that name! There's nothing intrinsically wrong with sounding like a Senegalese footballer, but Mando Diao run the risk of attracting nothing but phonecalls from Womad rather than the rock audience that'd dig 'em. Secondly, for a band described as a "hype" by one Swedish on-line record shop, Mute seem to have been shockingly lackadaisical about bothering with any kind of promotion whatsoever for the record over here. They need to get their act together, and fast, because this is exactly the kind of music that could actually enhance the UK charts if given half a chance.
www.mando-diao.com
Jane Farrell

MARIZANE
Stage One' (Vibro-phonic; CD) 
     This HAS to be a joke, right? There is NO POSSIBLE WAY this band could sound more like David Bowie circa Hunky Dory/Aladdin Sane if they tried - and they're definitely doing their utmost, even down to corralling Tony Visconti to produce three of these five tracks! Maybe they blindfolded him on the way to the studio and told him it actually was the Thin White Dame of Switzerland in there, feeling a bit nostalgic...The online biog says Marizane are a Los Angeles trio who've been knocking around since 1992, but only just started releasing records. As far as I can gather from listening to the lyrics, this EP seems to be based around the concept of an alien (called Marizane) landing on Earth and being taken for some kind of Messiah. Now, where could that idea possibly have come from??!! But ultimately the blatant Ziggy Stardusting doesn't matter - because they're great songs! The fact that Probyn Gregory and Darian Sahanaja contribute (more in their post-Brian Wilson guise as session kings rather than a sign of any Wondermints influences) indicates the quality of the musicianship, and the production (as you'd expect from Visconti) is excellent. One almost feels beloved and much-missed
     Mick Ronson should be getting a credit too, so closely do all concerned adhere to his unique style of song arrangement. And whoever played the ultra-Brian May double tracked guitar solos on 'The Libertine' and 'Sad Foolish Robot' should be given a medal for services to emulating the genius astronomy enthusiast. Can't avoid succumbing to the old advertising cliche: if you like Bowie or early Queen, you'll like this!!! 
www.vibro-phonic.com/orderonline.htmzane.com
www.marizane.com
Jane Farrell

THE MIGHTY STARS
EP (Demo)
     Man, these kids are dorky! They're like BFTG teen nerds for the contemporary age. Don't go thinking '60s garage though, even though the name may suggest it. Bristolians The Mighty play pop punk in its most primitive and whiny form. Think The Buzzcocks meet The Ramones played all limp wristed c86 indie style. Far from spellbinding, but you gotta admit it's great that "the kids" are still making music like this. There're more downs than ups at the moment, but the distinctly fey Davy Jones' Monkees styled cut 'Suzanne' stands out from the rest, and is their finest moment. The harder songs just don't work though! What I get from this is that these guys are nice and sensible kids… but remember, when you're nice there's no room for R&R! 
hammondconnection@yahoo.co.uk
mightystars.50megs.com 
Mike Maroon

THE SINGLES
Better Than Before (Rainbow Quartz; CD)
     The dichotomy of R&R -- that is: the ugly, geeky kids at school learn instruments and write songs in order to win over girl's hearts -- hasn't been in more evidence since The Zombies or Elvis Costello & The Attractions split. Detroit's The Singles (all just over 20) do themselves no favours in their Merseybeat-meet-Hives apparel, and not one of 'em is a heartbreaker either! But unlike so many of today's cooler, more handsome looking young combos (take your pick) The Singles have an abundance of talent. Like the best American teen-bands who formed, practiced until their fingers bled and lived the waking dream after The Beatles performed on Ed Sullivan, The Singles through trial and effort succeed!
     Cotton Mather-without-the-pretensions is how I'd describe 'em. Melody and sing-a-long choruses are without doubt a main element of the band's sound, and like Cotton Mather they play with the Mersey Sound like putty in the hands, buffering and redefining the same manhandled shape. Better Than Before is rawer than any post-Cavern Beatles material, throwing in post-punk energy and the spirit of Detroit 2003. Yet half of the album is unashamedly made up of ballads, rather than the blustering sludge R&B styling that is so much in vogue today. 
     The Singles might just be the most exciting young band on the planet, and if their White Stripes connection (producer Jim Diamond -- who has brought out their uncaringly youthful driving sound) and their energetic music (that fits perfectly with the zeitgeist) might just get them noticed, the dire image won't. Ole' Moe's advice? Get a stylist, ditch the suits and continue playing the crafted pop songs.
     The Singles are definitely the best of bunch, and on top of that they bring a smile to the face of a jaded 32 year old like me. Maybe The Singles will no longer be "single" and the Supermodel girlfriends of pretenders The Kings Of Leon will soon ditch them and get it on with Vincent Frederick. We live in hope.
www.rainbowquartz.com
Jon 'Mojo' Mills

SUZY & LOS QUATTRO
He Could Be The One / Delighted To See You (Screaming Apple; 7")
     Sure, there's melody here. Competence. Even a bit of rockin' guitar action. But this late '70s / early '80s girl led pop rock (not POWERPOP) band from Barcelona just cause me to think of those dire early '80s John Hughes penned teen comedies. It's too ra-ra-skirt-lip-gloss cutesy! I'll give credit where it's due and covering the Honeybus opus 'Delighted To See You' is a wise move. Destroying it isn't! This version sounds like Belinda Carlisle!!!
www.screaming-apple-records.de
I P Freely

THE TANDOORIS
Walking Blind (No Fun; CD)
     The Tandooris are a contemporary garage band from Argentina who take a page out of The Standells and Chocolate Watchband book of recipes and concoct a dish of 12 snotty ravers! Singer/songwriter Juan Bordon may not be the second coming of Caruso, but his oft-chanting vocals work well with vintage-sounding tunes like 'You Complain Too Much,' 'You Drug Me', (sic, unless of course he's commanding someone to give him drugs), 'Can't Be Undone', 'I See Pixelations' and 'Tell Me If You Love Me'. The band also does cool versions of 'Bumble Bee' and The Velvet Underground's 'Head Held High', and they deserve lots of brownie points for their supercharged version of 'Whip It'. Many of the songs are punctuated by an instrument called the photosizer, which at its wildest sounds like a moog on lots of speed!
     Walking Blind is a fine CD, and although The Tandooris are a bit rough around the edges, I know I would love to see them play live!
www.nofunrecords.com
David Bash

VARIOUS ARTISTS
It Came From Uranus (Pro-Vel Records; CD)
     This is of course, a label sampler. This time for the St. Louis based Pro-Vel label. And what do they deal in you may well ask. Principally it would seem, punked up garagey hardcore. You get a reasonable variety in their roster here, and it's all very brash, raw and loud. There's punky instro surf guitar and dragster toons in the shape of Knuckle Dragger's 'Mr Teabaggin' and The Ka-Nives 'Stick Shift'. There's ('60s) garage-pop revival in Tomorrow's Caveman's 'That's Too Bad'. A good many of these though sound like the White Stripes meet The Dead Kennedys filtered through Twisted Sister and The Dictators (take that as you wish!). The Mistreaters' 'Dude Squad' and (a personal fave) Sagger's 'Black Market Body Parts' or Thee Electric's 'Nite Action' being examples. One of the best in name, title and indeed riffability is They Were Expendable's 'Be Mine Or Die', a juicy garage riff par excellence! So, I would suggest, one for those who have the hots for the spectrum of brat-guitar wheel reinvention ranging from the Detroit garage revival across to a few yards short of classic era Black Flag via some trash-rock elders, enjoy or endure as you will! 
www.provelrecods.com
Paul Martin