Thirty-three and a third

Short Change Hero : THE HEAVY (from the album The House That Dirt Built –2009)

The most surprisingthing about this band is that they are English. An album that explores soul, garage punk, voodoo swamp revue, a bit of James Brown funk, Hendrix and balls-out rock. By the time you’ve finished listening to the album, they’ve also kicked rockabilly, reggae and even a closing ballad into the gumbo pot. The most surprising thing, however, is how good they are at making it all sound like the work of just one band. Brilliant vocals, just to make things perfect






We've Been Here Before : I AM YOUR AUTOPILOT (from the album Robots In The Orchestra - 2009)

A very slow-burning mix of acoustic, choral and electronica from this Manchester based trio. They call the genre "folktronica" (who makes up these names?) but I call it just very good music.  Shades of Air, Spiritualized with a nod to Simon and Garfunkel. This track starts rather weirdly bt it all comes good after the intro

Special Baby : LACK OF AFRO (from the album My Groove, Your Move - 2009)


Again, not a band but the work of Adam Gibbons, a well-known DJ on the funk and soul scene. It helps, though, that he is an accomplished multi-instrumentalist and he is the man behind the bass, keyboards and percussion on this masterful album.  On guitar is his mate, Nick Radford.  The influences are plain - soul, jazz and funk from the 60s and 70s but with a distinctive 90s big beat feel.  Great album title, too