David Emery Online

To make a change from simply going on about the music business I thought it’s high time to feature some actual music. That, and it means I don’t need to write much.

First up is the rather stupendously wonderful Bon Iver. I would normally flounder around trying to come up with words good enough to do him justice, but I know I won’t manage it so I won’t. Just go and buy the album.

Next we have Magistrates, who seem to be getting a little bit of hype right now, due to a certain Radio 1 DJ whose name rhymes with Dane Towe. The hype is more then justified, though, as they sound something like a cross between Klaxons and Vampire Weekend – and if that combination isn’t going to generate hype then what is?

The Magistrates – The Inbetweens

Having filled my credibility-o-meter, I will now – in one fell swoop – undo all my hard work by talking about much maligned Reading band Does It Offend You, Yeah? For some reason – other then having a stupid name – they seem to have got a bit of a bad reputation, but their debut album is really very good. Forget the electro-y stylings of their previous singles (as good as they are), the rest of the album is far more guitar based and all the better for it (in a Bloc Party-ish sort of way).

Finally, remember Forward Russia? Yes, you know – the matching t-shirts, the naming-songs-after-numbers thing? I bet you didn’t even know they had an album out, did you? I didn’t until after it was out, which was a bit of a surprise although not as much as a surprise as when I heard it – it’s really good. A big step forward from their debut, it trades immediacy for depth, short sharp tracks for sprawling epics and makes it really work.