Listen Up! No. 21: Stagecoach - Map to the Freezer

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I'm not entirely sure whether the video is a send-up or a tribute to laughably unrealistic 90s explosion advert Speed, but either way I'm charmed - this Surrey lot have crafted an excellent slice of breathless, punky indie with just enough trigger-happy melody to hold it together. Like a ballsier (and thus far less irritating) incarnation of Los Campesinos.

"I had a dream I shot you with mace and I... hope you're not okay", they say. Food for thought for the critics...





Flip to about 1.20 for the music, or revel in the majesty of Keanu's adrenalin-addled performance. Hmmm.

Listen Up! No. 20: Larsen B - Marilyn

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New-fangled jangle-wangle. And running drums. Can't go wrong with running drums.

Listen Up! No.19: The Like - Fair Game

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Chameleon-like girly quartet The Like take on their most pleasing guise yet - 60s doo-wop meets garage-rock angles and a vocal which recalls the slightly sneering sing-song of Elastica's Justine Frischmann (at least in the verses). If I'm not mistaken, this one has Mark Ronson at the helm of the production desk, which gives it that indelible top-10 sparkle. The haters might scoff, but better this than he give the Kaiser Chiefs any more air time, right?

The vid also comes courtesy of Gia Coppola, which makes it cool, or something. Skip to 2 mins for the song.

Listen Up No.18: Besnard Lakes - Albatross

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Slightly belated as lead-off singles go (the album dropped in March), for those who haven't picked up the excellent The Besnard Lakes Are the Roaring Night, here's a gentle reminder of why you should. Think skyscraping guitars, peaked only by the soaring melodies. As far as the vid goes... it's some kind of faux-espionage intrigue that's gone way over my head but still retains my interest. Oooo, deep.

Listen Up! No.17: Kele - Tenderoni

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Bloc Party's increasingly frowning frontman releases his debut solo effort - 'The Boxer' - this week, and he's only gone and the done the whole electro/dance thing hasn't he! Who saw that coming (erm...)? Anyway, to save you the trouble of listening to the whole thing (which is fairly mediocre), here's the only track you desperately need. It's essentially a gentleman's update of Wiley's 'Wearing My Rolex', but by Jove, it's a belter.