Dubstar: Make It Better (Food)
Bright and breezy dance-pop is Dubstar's stock-in-trade, and Make It Better is as bouncy as a Friday night out in Newcastle. Featuring luvverly Northern lass, Sarah Blackwood, on vocals, Steve Hillier on programming, and Chris Wilkie on guitars, Dubstar are a sort of St Etienne junior, mingling the disparate dialects of indie, dance and pop, and coming up with a lively, intelligent tunes for clubbing lovers. Take It, Stay and The Self Same Thing are no-nonsense notes from the domestic battlefield, while When The World Knows Your Name and I'm Conscious Of Myself are mirrorball images of self-doubt. Despite the occasional whiff of 1980s synth-pop or the odd hint of shoegazing, this is a record crackling with peroxide-fuelled energy.
- Kevin Courtney
Buffalo Tom: Asides by Buffalo Tom (Beggar's Banquet)
Along with Soul Asylum, Afghan Whigs and Sebadoh, Buffalo Tom stood at the railway crossing between grunge and Americana, playing a heavy but rootsy guitar rock with one eye sneakily peeking towards the horizon. The Massachusetts trio of by Bill Janovitz, Chris Colbourn and Tom Maginnis formed in 1986 and released their debut album three years later. The band is best remembered for 1991's Let Me Come Over, which featured the fab getaway anthem, Taillights Fade, and 1993's Big Red Letter Day, which featured such effervescent tunes as Sodajerk and Treehouse. Tastes have moved on and left Buffalo Tom eating dust, but there are still some rainswept gems on 1998's Smitten.
- Kevin Courtney