One year on from the Jim Jones Revue’s self-titled debut, the need for a singles/b-sides collection seems about as worthwhile as playing volleyball on the moon. The eight songs here are taken from the band’s first three singles and their accompanying b-sides, plus an extra two tracks acting as a ‘taster’ of what’s to come [...]

This album is about confronting the false reality that we are all placed in, it presents a course of treatment that even the most blinkered listener will have to awake from their slumber and question just why they live the 9-5 to spend all of Saturday buying objects which subjectify them to the rule of capital, and thus to live life as an illusion.

Be at Proud on a Saturday night is a tough gig for any band. The band are not the focus of the evening, meaning you’re dealing with an audience getting progressively drunker with little more desire than to hear four to the floor and get dancing.

Tonight, it was about the album ‘Sounds Of The Universe’ hence the inclusion of the bluesy ‘Miles Away’ et al. More than that, Depeche Mode sounded like the universe itself. Really, REALLY amazing.

For the performance White Rabbits put in, you feel they deserve more from their static Tuesday night crowd. The interplay between songs, the trading instruments, the passionate delivery, they do everything they can to ignite the room.

To start with, it’s hard not to like Pallett for an article I read recently telling a story where one of his compositions was used by a mobile phone company without his permission – he gives all the profits to a health charity – ah Owen! Though, either way ‘Heartland’ has got it going on.

There’s a fine art to making music that’s subtly aggressive, and the White brothers have always managed to carry it off quite well, the early charm of Electric Soft Parade and more recently as members of Brakes being particularly good examples.

It’s one to please his fans I’m sure, but it’s also pleasant enough to maybe make the neutrals take a little more notice.

The Quickening could not be described as a jolly album, but I would not say it’s as sinister or dark as has been claimed. Nothing with William’s beautiful, wistful, confessional voice could ever been deemed sinister. She could sing ‘Fire’ by Arthur Brown and it would still sound seductive.

There are deft touches here and there, with many of the lyrics sounding more like poetry than musical accompaniment. Take Keep Your Head High: “I’ve been good and I’ve been brave / but don’t write that on my grave / It’ll just sound like a lie”. Walking the right side of the boundary between self-deprecation and victimisation, Brinks excels with concise, clever wordplay.

HMV’s Ones To Watch nights are all over London’s venues at the moment, with tonight at The Borderline being no exception. Our hosts tonight are The Miserable Rich, Lisa Mitchell, and The Wave Pictures, all of whom were tagged as ‘ones-to-watch’ about a year ago and are really making some headway.

‘The Cave’ is great.

I believe they’re currently on tour in France, but I’m sure they’ll come back to England soon. I’d go and see them if I were you, cos they’re probably really good live.

With only one album under their belt this talented Swedish band is striving past all expectations, and with this confident performance, an extensive UK and US tour already booked, and hopefully some 2010 festival appearances, I’m sure this won’t be the last we hear from Miike Snow!

Out Of The Fire is a summer rifftastic singalong to wash that rubbish February weather right away. Take that, Met Office.

The verse lays somewhere between an 80’s-era Rolling Stones gig and a spaceship, complete with relevant fuzzy alien guitars and a sneered melody.