Iccas Belle- “Utterly delicious and a truly unique sound, blending traditional with contemporary they defy genre, to simply label them as ‘rock’ is to do them an injustice”… …some hard riffin action that’s part Zep part ZZ Top, some Cream/Hendrix like grooviness, a bit Purps n Doors….the vocal almost Edgar Broughton like at times. A hairy freaky rocknroll sound to die for whilst you burn resin brightly. Super Evolver- Their recent single features blokey outta Kasabian on vocals and sounds kinda Kasabian like I guess. All in all and when their actual singer joins in it’s a pretty interesting twist on Northern narco indie rock, quite dark and psychedelic in places. Good stuff. The Exports- Brit rock with post Oasis swagger in tact, plenty of scallydelic nuances here – in the Midlands there’s a lorra lorra love for all things 1995. Done mighty well too matey. Chroma Drana- punkishly hewn heavy side up alt rock with feisty and forceful female front person. Cracking attitude to the fore material. Cece And The Howlers- Female fronted blues rock,  with a raw garagey approach they certainly swhake some action.

The Effect- alt punk grunge with  laconic vocal.  FooFighters stylee albeit a bit more ratty and punk but also with the grooviness of late ’60s fare like Cream. Nirvana via early Damned in here too…that’s rocking. Tank Trap- bluesy rock metal bit like The Almighty via Zep, good grooving riffage, strong vocals good dose of Incubus in here too, although with more rap-rock RATM vibe. Phil Black- the 1 man art punk electro Meek merchant returneth…Cameron’s a ponce he declares and who are we to disagree? For fans of The Fall, early Human League, 70 Gwen Party and Alternative TV…

Broken Boots- P Doherty stylings with that drawling vocal on the edge of skiddipity dip jazz crooning and lots of little augmented chords in the Libs style. Since the Libertines impersonating trend has abated this is more than acceptable, Broken Boots do it really well.Eden Shadow- melodic AOR rock with power chords and shimmersome jangle in equal measure plus a little Celtic lilt to the lead lines…part BOC, part Lizzy, though the vocal is more indie cum punk rock. Lots of neat ideas on show. .Breaking Illusion- altness and metal mania combine to create a righteous rocknroll racket.

Stop Press!-Female fronted punk ska, witha pretty convincing female vocal up-front, like a council estate no doubt via shouty punk.  Hanna’s Marines- Female fronted alt-pop…takes an age to get going…come on kids, get it together!! Sounds a bit like Catpower on a folk tip, quite nice hazy laid-back evocative tunes with a possible nod to Pentangle. South Wall Corner Club-lo fi dream pop with a shuffling hip hop beat, quite folky and pastoral in place, lovely boy/girl vocals, wistful and summery vibes, great stuff. LelaMarien- Dramatic, Post hardcore sound with a bit of synth action probing yer midrif…

Atlas- Admirably angsty indie rock with a swirling psychedelic vibe and vocals that are a bit Robert Smith like. Lovers- All girl indie pop hooky riff driven tunes with a nod to the Bangles but with an edgy sometimes melancholic feel reminiscent of The Smiths. Ghosts Of Fortune- Kings of Leon anthemic riffage meets Staind‘s deep vox with a 3 Doors Down post-grunge feel. Melodic and singalongable…

Birthrite-  Black Country Victorian Sci Fi rockers are alt metallers wearing Victoriana chic playing  blues based punky alt rock. Some gypsy flourishes and impressive lead via some catchy and indeed witty songwriting…The Onironauts- continuing their Freakonomy residency…..Funk, klezmer and prog collide to make a brass led whacky but dance friendly mix with some oddball vocal lines and lots of taut, tight playing Parliament/Funkadelic meets Primus meets Zappa meets Gong. An excellent night out for heads n feds alike. Atomic Son- noir-ish indie pop with split splat drums and positive messages all over. Something like Placebo in their more considered passages or even a Brit take on Killers style new Romo-ism.Black River Wild-London based acoustic duo doing folk blues rock. “Blending the whisky-soaked vocals and twanging guitar of Blake Robson with Kester Hynds close-harmonising & playing the cello like a man possessed”…. Picture Jack White playing acoustic along with a fabulous cello player and voila!…class act, very interesting.

The Dogbones- Dual drumming punk grunge tour de force fronted brilliantly by bewitchingly bewigged Nomi Leonard and former Daisy Chainsaw/Queen Adrena uber rocknroll guitar shredder Crspin…proper dark ass punk rock and fecking roll with menaces. Not to be missed natch. Deadcuts- Amazing band featuring Mark Keds formerly of The Senseless Things and Jolt and also known for co writing the Libertines hit ‘Cant stand me now‘ with Trevor Sharpe former drummer for Miranda Sex Garden/Medieval Babes/ The Servant, Mark McCarthy bassist for Wonder Stuff/Queen Adrena/Mick Jones and Jerome Alexandre formerly of indie punk band The Skuzzies and Esoteric/Spoken word project A Warning to the Curious…it’s a psych punk grunge supergroooop kidz! The Vultures- baroque country pop with a deep dark gothic leaning. Like Johnny Cash got kidnapped by Andrew Eldritch and tied to the bed round Bert Bacarac‘s gaff by Nancy Sinatra. Dead On TV- Elvis meets The Strokes is a pretty fair assessment of the DOTV approach..some of that cool quirk n jerk post punk popism from the cool school of early XTC too…

Damn Vandals- one of the very few heroically swaggering proper rocknroll bands on the circuit who have impressed widely with their twangsome garage swamp blues rock n roll… a touch of Bunnymen, a hint of the rockingest aspect of The Damned, a bit of Strokes like moderne grit. Great tunes too, come to their Xmas party, gonna swing like a motherlover. The Black Watch-The Black Watch boasts a history of honour, gallantry …ah, hang on that’s the regiment…but then again, anyone wise to the fabulously suave songs and recordings of the Santa Barbera CA based songwriter John Andrew Fredrick wouldn’t disagree.. think Roy Harper meets My Bloody Valentine. Wonderful, wonderful stuff…he’s also written 2 novels y’know The King of Good Intentions and The Knucklehead Chronicles. Long Black Coats- Psychedelic narco indie rock, so think Brian Jonestown Massacre, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club…  impressive grinding rocknroll. White Ape- gotta luv White Ape, Steve Lamaqc certainly does and has spun more than a few times on his 6music show…expect garage and swamp tinged punk rocknroll with reliably rancid post punk elements to the fore, some Cave-ish quarters, and even the occasional foray into drrrrrty cod reggae. Brilliant band, brilliant night! Kicked off by The Snookys outta Italy. A bit of a surf/psych garage triumph. Sounds a bit like Dan Sartain fronting The Cramps. Great tracks delivered with lots of conviction and a few Sonics “Wooooaaahhhh’s” thrown in. Good Lord this we like muchly!

Toshes- A sort of prog rock thru stoner Metal reworking of Janes Addiction, quite an unusual sound, shades of the heavier side of Pink Floyd and Led Zep too, interesting band full of deep joys. Robin And Juliana Soul Jazz Duo- geezer plays the guitar as the gal belts out in big voice Janis type soul belter mode…great contrast, the minimal backing and the explosive vocal. Actually when he takes a solo he’s very impressive too, like Django meets Jimi…

Fluid Root- Intriguing stuff. Dark sound, darker lyrics.  Spoken word but full of intent. Spooky organ synth carries it along. A bit shoegazy in places. Reminiscent indeed of The Horrors first album. Jacob March- very deft guitar playing with a Devanda Banhart meets Jeff Buckley approach to the songcraft/singcraft…wonderful example of the genre, nice shit kicking backwoods feel here too. Souvii Chameleone- cool boho chick fronts soul/rock band coming on with a great soul blues vocal part Winehouse part Joplin.

Belter-With an irrverent punky indie sound that snuggly fits in between Orange Juice and The Frank And Walters and Buzzcocks and most adroitly. Blasteroids-Interesting stuff. Green Day meets Arctic Monkeys. Sing a long choruses. Great build ups. Fast, furious fun. Howard J Foster- solo keyboard whizz with Wakeman like prog outs, melancholic solo piano pieces and even Moog reinventions of Chopin. Clever stuff.

James Edge And The Mindstep-  beautiful song writing in the vein of John Martyn and Nick Drake meets the smoky jazz-tinged folk of The Pentangle, and the jagged rhythmic and harmonic complexity of contemporaries like Everything Everything…. interesting stuff and there’s a bit of Divine Comedy to this, also musically Wild Beasts. Good stuff. Nome And The Natives- Layered reverbed vocals and FX with a moody nay trippy realisation. Sort of in the Clanaad muso Romantic soul sense but then the songs pump along fantastically well and it’s part Kate Bush, part Blondie, part Fleetwood Mac…plus tropicalia guitars! Her voice is definitely half Harry half Nicks but mainly Patti Smith….swaggers like the Horses era Smiff too…

Vigilante- Parody rocknroll shenanigans with this swinging combo joyously taking the piss out the American rock scene, think Queens of the Stone Age meets Spinal Tap, marvellous! Arcane Militia-Progged up stoner metal, interesting stuff, guitars chug and squall in a furious psych-metal riff storm, powered along by thunderous drums, menacing bass and angry yet at times soulful vocal, doesn’t really sound like anyone else, though there’s a possible nod to Mastodon’s recent output. Megadeaf- metal!!!!!

Franco And The Dreadnought- Some Jake Bugg cum Alex Turner impassioned vocalising over sweetly plucked acoustic one minute…a different approach to Britpop next but all thru a hiphop lens…. A plaintive trumpet atop a downbeat set of beats , said trumpeter than downs tools to rap in a cool Northern drawl. Nice feel, interesting Kit. Bobby Treacle’s Cartel-The Romanticism of wide open prairie pop and keening heart fit to burst alt country…stirring work. Jimmy Edwards- ace face raconteur and crater of song, the former Masterswitch and Flintlock man with the mod/skin history, learn about London popular history here and now kids…Centurion Sect- aaah, luv the Sect…the grittiest garage punk workouts that seemlessly blend early Feelgoods fractious blues, Dragnet era Fall-abilly and comedically hinged garage punk…not to be missed for songs about pyjamas and Jamie Oliver and the general absurdity of life.

The Plasters- Indie rock with build ups and rock outs but all very much of school of sugar coated post Ramones fizz and Strokes cock sure coolness via English indie nous- wow, they do it really well. Their video has been premiered on Rolling Stone Magazine’s site,last year…. remind me of Silver Sun, one of them great ’90s indie shouldabins! Teenies gonnabes… The Kooler Kings-Really hooky energetic and up-beat indie pop, sounds a bit like Blur or Supergrass in places but has a pretty unique sound all it’s own.  Lordess- fabulous vocal performance from this lady of rock and soul, partway between Aretha and Janis...wow, what a place to be! With luminaries like producer and writer  and bass icon Livingston Brown in the band not to mention uber hot drummer C Taggart this fabulous band will truly knock your soul sox off. Very special guest appearance by the premier British reggae talent M…..shhhhhhh…. The Swagger- mod pop, a la late 60′s Who via Itchycoo ere Small Faces, but also some Britpop nuances in the Oasis ball park.

 Brain Death Zombie- in March 2012. Relocated in London in Oct 2012. Band interests…. Tool . Soulfly. Korn. Killswitch Engage . Ill Nino. Ministry. Skinny Puppy. John Murphy. Portishead. Ruby Throat. Sankai Juku. ‘You are invited to the mystery tour of our world of good and evil. Absorb the euphoria, lose your breath and enter the realm of the blind. Condense your anger to the max and release it! Be aware! The world has drowned you. With the newfound deadly awareness you will sleep well like a crying soul…lost’…Gulp..The Smokin’ Prophets- glam cum schlock punk rock. Leather n tood n blistering delivery ..metallised Ramones meets GnR sensibilities via Pistols punch.

Dirty Blonde- Blusey alt rock, with some searing lead guitar and a heartfelt impassioned vocal, sounds like the Gun Club in places, with the dramatic flourish of Sensational Alex Harvey Band. Good stuff. Dorjee- solo acoustic artist expertly emoting in a Jeff Buckley manner with tasteful piano and FX …delicate and melodic but can still grab ya by the lapels and make you listen.

Missa Watanabe Vs Space Traveler- what can you say about this one man electro breakbeat dubstep n bass tour de force? A regular contributor to Stuart MaConie’s Freak Zone on BB 6 Music, and quite right too, this is some of the wittiest, most head twisting, neck nodding, cranial bust out groovy shit on the circuit. And all with a wonderful stage show featuring a goonie set part Dr Seuss part Heath Robinson on shrooms. Yowsah. Dragons That Make Love To Pandas- fizzy buzzy indiepop played fast but not furious…almost jazz chords on the guitar but the urgent nasally vocal and syncopated drums are like something out of one of them Django Everything type bands…then they break down into a weird little modern jazz instro passage with samples..interesting…very very interesting. Reminding me now of Laughing Clowns and The Feelies..post punk awkward squad heaven then! The Tens- righteously ramshackle indie punk with a pouche n loose Libertines feel via some fierce Pistols pith and loads of that old ruff hewn charm.

Friends Of Friends- dream pop, indie rock and emo mingled together to create a great singalong concoction somewhere between We Are Scientists and Fall Out Boy via a touch of Foals. Swordinair- choir boy vocals via lightly experimental melodic rok pop with enjoyable twists n turns…New Vinyl-  Rootsy Americana infused indie-blue-rock… there’s a bit of a nod to Kings Of Leon but it’s a gritty Northern indie take on things… Sexwax- Dreamy, lo fi indie, really nice. Sounds like a lot of the stuff coming out of Birmingham. Ie Peace, Jaws, Swim Deep etc. Very mature sound, well produced, great!

Jamie Kimmett- Singer songwriter, nice voice in a blue eyed soul stylee, with a possible nod to the likes of Coldplay. A gifted songwriter and performer from Glasgow, his electrifying sets at the likes of King Tuts, the Troubadour and the Garage have drawn a loyal fan-base and critical acclaim. Music is his language and this self taught musician has plenty to say. Agosto-Beatlesey pop from Argentina a full band but presented here as an acoustic duo, sounding like the George Harrison penned Beatles tunes, great harmonies and memorable hooks.

A & T-Hip-hop and brass fuelled funk, really snappy exhuberent tunes, with a nod to J.B’s via something more recent, early Brand New Heavys etc, great players and the two  male and female vocalists are on the money too. Fuzzy Logic Baby- Sweet blend of indie and hip hop and whacked out Londonist vibes, yeah baby. The Tennents- A brash rush of indie rock that seems to be part Suede/Smiths lineage with some power chording neo Clash/Pistols punch too…sound good…a bit of Mozza-ness to the singer but he has his own thing gwan on. Anthemic songs is right and some spotlight kid flexing Mick Jones cum JamesDean Bradfield lead work..yep. MDME SPKR- Debuting their new line up ce soir, La Pomponette et co play the most frenzied we-mean-it-maaan of hardcore tinged garage surf punknroll you could ever wish for.

The Show-Lo-slung blues rock with soulful sass of Black Keys the swagger of Oasis and the attitood of Guns n Roses. Anthemic tunes played with bags of conviction. Jets To Zurich- alt rock from Wales with  Manics nuances via some chewy Foos pieces and a touch of Oceansize…via a plaintive vocal that is almost Ozzy like and a bit of a Mars Volta vibe as well, tip top.

Matthew Hidden- Well produced tracks full of pop yearning. There’s a lot going on. Sweet, melancholic vocals. As featured on The NME blog and XFM.

Goodbye Moneypenny-  New wave tinged pop, some nice harmonies and it’s catchy stuff, Squeeze with the odd idea from The Beatles, which gives it a Lightning Seeds feel in places…  from France. Shinny happy jingly pop supreme, ah oui. The Hyenes- consisting of most of Noire Desire a pretty big post Nirvana rock band from France, recently reformed sans their original singer (let’s not allez la)  and plough a more indie rock furrow, but a dynamic garage punk one at that…storming stuff.

Elephants And Castles- artful meanderings with spiky guitar and West Coast flavoured sun kissed vocal.Picks up the beat nicely and charges along new new wavely and sounds for all the world like an out-take from Black Sea era XTC albeit sans a bit of the quirk. Similar influences I guess- Byrds, Beatles, Beach Boys…really nice…and a song about architect Goldfinger(echoes of ‘Towers Of London’?)…not yer everyday indie pop. Really good. The Little Things- pop reggae with diaphanously robed female singer- great voice too. Swings swishly sweetly swoonfully….

Special Kinda Madness are a Specials and Madness tribute band playing one set from each band. We don’t need to remind you of The Dublin Castle /Madness association! With the band’s involvement in the largest Madness fan Facebook group this will definitely be a heaving heavenly happening, so book early! Plus ska, soul and reggae DJ action til 2am….