Arctic Monkeys
Don't Sit Down 'Cos I've Moved Your Chair [single]
30/05/2012
Domino Records
U2, The Strokes, Alice Cooper, The Doors

What's to plug? Sadly, those Monkeys have moved into stodgy-rock mindstep more commonly associated with bands like U2 and the Strokes. Which is ironic, because here we have Alex and the boys dressed as Julian Casablancas and heaving up the kind of chip-shop esoteria Bono has made his name on. It’s all a bit like Peter Kay doing Jim Morrison. Heavy-guitars but unlikely to be heavy-rotation. The video was directed by Focus Creeps and shot in London and the band’s hometown of Sheffield.

Clinic
Bubblegum [single]
31/01/2012
Domino Records
Broadcast, Art Brut, Joy Division, Josef K

What's to plug? A cat in a dress chews gum, blows said gum into a bubble and proceeds to fly over roof and dale bringing all that she passes to life before finding herself in a vulnerable situation with a crocodile. Sure enough it’s the video to the new single from surreal scouse mavericks, Clinic, and whilst the point of all this eludes me at present, it’s nevertheless the band’s prettiest tune to date. The single is released on 12” vinyl and digital formats, and is bolstered by a remix from Mark E on both formats.

Spokes
We Can make It Out [single]
15/11/2011
Counter Records
Polyphonic Spree, Flaming Lips, Yes, Guillemots, The Lord of the Rings

What's to plug? The cream of Manchester, that’s what they say, isn’t it? And for a time we thought we knew what that cream was all about. It was composed of a cynical, scruffy melancholy, a beleaguered, guttural quality, two-parts terminal misery to three-parts heavy rain. But the whole consistency of that cream threatens to change with the arrival of Spokes and their cloudbusting, mould-breaking brew of widescreen, choral pop. 'We Can Make It Out' is the first single to be taken from the band’s forthcoming debut album, ‘Everyone I Ever Met’ and is as big and as brave as as bouyant as the Polyphonic Spree at their theatre-bursting best. Bringing Celtic pomp back to pop – Spokes.

Ólöf Arnalds
Innundir Skinni [album]
13/09/2011
Fat Cat Records
Dot Allison, Múm, Sigur Rós, Adem, Amiina

What's to plug? The song is about being pregnant. Beyond that your guess is as good as mine. Taken from the soon to be released album of the same name, Bjork’s equally pixie-like and skittish Icelandic chum, Ólöf Arnalds picks on a peculiarly dinky guitar-like instrument in a manner more befitting creatures from Middle Earth. Beauitful, lilting stuff from the sometime Múm member.

Leni Ward
Opening Doors [single]
02/08/2011
The Library Recordings
Imogen Heap, Bat For Lashes, Psapp, Frau Frau

What's to plug? To be fair, the comparisons to Imogen heap are likely to prove more durable (and more accurate) than those to either Bjork or Bat For Lashes, but that’s no bad thing given the breezy way Leni has with a tune. Based in Derby – the kooky capital of the Midlands – ‘Opening Doors’ is a bit like getting caught in a shower of jellybeans as you bounce merrily over hill and dale. Pink, pink sunshine. Judge for yourself.

David E Sugar
David E Sugar [single]
09/08/2011
Sunday Best
Hot Chip, David Byrne, Max Sedgley, Infadels

What's to plug? Chirpy and peculiarly British release from Hot Chip related artist, David E Sugar. Support from the likes of Zane Lowe should ensure that this perky little funk-fuelled party popper with snazzy hand claps in all the right places pops evenly across the clubs this summer. Imagine what Level 42 would have sounded like had they been any good and had a band member that was even partially sexy. Signed to Rob da Bank's Sunday Best label.

Chemical Bros
Another World [single]
26/07/2011
Parlophone
Daft Punk, Lemon Jelly, M83, Lords of Acid, Crystal Method

What's to plug? No more big, headline grabbing guest vocalists in the shape of Noel Gallagher, Bernard Sumner, Wayne Coyne, Bloc Party or Richard Ashcroft for Tom and Ed - but wasn't it only ever icing on the cake? Anyway, here's the cake without additives (except E numbers clearly) or any sweeteners and it still goes down a treat. If you were in any doubt about the growing acid revival take note of this, a swelling, pulse driven beast that packs its summer clothes in a suitcase of warm, fuzzy loveliness. Remixes come from Lindstrøm and Boyz Noize.

Gorillaz
Melancholy Hill [single]
26/07/2011
Parlophone
Dan the Automator, Empire of the Sun, OMD, Stephen Jones (Baby Bird), Danger Mouse, Malcolm McClaren

What's to plug? As Pyramid Stage headliners at this year’s Glastonbury, Damon’s 2D manga ensemble may not have not gone down quite as well as say Radiohead, David Bowie or even Rolf Harris but that doesn’t take anything away from the lilting euphoria of the band’s frothy summer single, ‘Melancholy Hill’ – a snuggly, cuddly combination of OMD’s ‘Souvenir’ and just about any song picked at random from all those early Babybird self-releases. Gorillaz are on a sold-out tour of the UK in September with dates including Glasgow SECC on the 8th and Manchester Evening News Arena on the 12th. My advice? Ditch Jamie Hewlett for Rolf Harris and the job’s a good ‘un.

I Am Kloot
Northern Skies [single]
01/06/2011
Shepherd Moon
Mumford & Sons, Liam Frost, Cherryghost, Badly Drawn Boy, Don McClean, Grant Lee Philips, Will Oldham

What's to plug? Frank Cottrell Boyce - writer of 24 Hour Party People, Welcome to Sarajevo and pal of Danny Boyle calls the band's new release, 'Sky At Night' a ‘nocturnal, reflective - a wee small hours of the morning album'. And he's bang on the nail. Whilst no less confessional than previous releases, the brooding privacy of albums like 'Gods and Monsters' has been wrenched open by Guy Garvey's lavish scores, replete with orchestras and choirs, adding a whole new dimension to all that quiet and introspective stuff. Fittingly, it’s a bit like tearing off a weighty, gabardine cloak from the nighttime sky to reveal a dazzling and infinite universe. Released on July 5th, the album is preceded by the single ‘Northern Skies’, with a video featuring the ever brilliantly melancholy, Christopher Eccleston.

Cellophane Flowers
If I Was A Girl [EP]
24/05/2011
Minor Fall Records
Sons & Daughters, Get Back Guinozzi!, Altered Images, Kinks, The Cure, Fiery Furnaces

What's to plug? ‘Off-kilter pop’ – what does it mean exactly? Crud’s own experience of feeling off-kilter is having a storming headache and a dry, bitter taste in its mouth after consuming copious amounts of alcohol the night before. At a push it might even inevitably lead to a quiet night in watching ‘Gardener’s World’. But that’s about as ‘off-kilter’ as it gets – but for the likes of Cellophane Flowers it means drafting in band members from several corners of the globe and tickling out the kind of skewed and breezy riffs more commonly associated with songs about cross-dressing persons called Lola. Fronted by deliciously dew-eyed, Italian sort, Francesca Corradini, the band’s eccentric pop-art brew has already been drawing favourable reviews from 6 Music. A Neopolitan Clare Grogan: what more do you people want?